Destiny
by SakurArashi
Summary: What happens when Inuyasha encounters his youkai brother on the moonless night? One heck of an adventure.
1. Chapter 1

Hi all! This is my first Inuyasha fic featuring this pairing. I'm a little nervous since I've never wrote with this pairing and not really like this either, but I've been in contact with my beta-reader Falling Tenshi, who's amazing, so I hope you'll like it.

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Inuyasha was hiding. Well, not hiding per se, just waiting out the night of the new moon in a safe space where no one could find him. No, absolutely not hiding.

Though hanyou, or perhaps because of it, he knew his strengths and weaknesses very well. The new moon, the one night where he was at his weakest, finding a tree tall enough that no youkai prowling the ground could reach him was a priority.

Of course, the damn tree had to be covered with leaves and branches, preferably, for the airborne youkai to miss him. That made the tree choosing business very annoying. Inuyasha often ended up in a tree he'd previously occupied some months prior, and in winter it was a downright pain in the ass to find a decently covered tree branch to hike on.

It was summer right now though, a damn hot summer, making the midnight hair cling to the face of the human in the tree and making the haori stick to his back. He'd have to peel the shit of his back just to wash them, the hanyou turned human grumbled to himself.

His eyes, usually a rich amber color, kind of like the sun had mixed itself with fire and trapped itself on the hanyou, were now shining blue as they surveyed the landscape under him.

The night was calm thus far, and the only sound his weak human ears could make out was that of a wolf demon howling. Why, he didn't know, as there was no moon; a fact he was acutely aware of each month.

Suddenly his senses, though dulled, picked out the even sound of footsteps making their way through the forest. He knew he was hard to spot on his branch, but these steps had a familiar quality to them. Like he'd heard them often before. That made him nervous because there was only a handful of people whose steps he would recognize and most of them had already left him.

Kagome, the only human he could claim that had gotten under his skin almost completely, had left through the well once their mission of getting rid of Naraku and getting the Shikon no Tama was over and done with.

Sango and Miroku had also left after the final battle. They had set out toward the old Taijiya village. They were probably trying to revive the place and start their own family. Kirara and Shippo had gone with them.

The only one left was his bastard of a half brother, the arrogant Taiyoukai of the western lands. Heir to the great Inu no Taisho. Also a hater of Inuyasha's existence. But why would Sesshoumaru come all the way out here? The western lands were as far away as hell from there and the only civilization nearby were the small villages where youkai and hanyou alike were hated.

Of course, the silver haired youkai hated humans about as much as they hated his kind. But for as long as Inuyasha had known him, Sesshoumaru had never let that fact hinder him from just walking through a village if it lay in his way.

The footsteps grew closer and closer, but Inuyasha was confident that the youkai, that just couldn't be his older brother, was going to pass by and leave him to his fate. After all, he didn't smell of hanyou any longer, only a human smell. Since he'd never gotten to smell himself as a human, he didn't exactly know if he kept any of his real scent during this time, but he supposed it would disappear with the sun that took his other hanyou features with it.

Suddenly the footsteps stopped, and while Inuyasha was placed very high in the tree he had a clear view down to the ground. He chanced a peek. Right underneath him, several meters down, stood a silver haired shape with a white fluffy thing tied to his shoulder, sniffing the air subtly. Inuyasha felt panic trying to break out. This night was his most closely guarded secret. No one was supposed to find out about it, it would get him killed.

He sneaked another peek and was startled to see two burning amber eyes staring straight back at him. He righted his position, but overbalanced, slipped and started to fall to the ground. Wonderful, just what he needed.

He prided himself of not acting out on his panic in difficult situations and this was no different. He gripped after branches to stop his fall. Never mind that his head went "oh shit, oh shit, oh shit" while he fell to an almost certain death.

Just as he could feel the ground coming up to meet him, he grasped something smooth and silky, and just gripped it with all his strength and curled around it, hoping it would at least break his fall a little.

His meeting with the ground never came. Instead, he landed on something very hard and spiky, while the thing took the fall for him. A quiet, surprised "oof" could be heard from the thing.

While Inuyasha lay still, feeling for any fractures or broken bones in his body, the thing beneath him moved suddenly.

"Filthy human, remove yourself from this Sesshoumaru or you will find yourself without a way to do so in the future."

Yeah, that was his beloved older brother, indeed. This day, or night actually, sucked. Figuring that the youkai hadn't recognized him as his half brother, he quietly and quickly untangled himself from the silver hair, almost identical to his, that he'd had in a death grip and scrambled to get of the powerful tyrant.

Inuyasha knew that his voice would be a dead give-away. He was also known for his mouth just running of with him and getting him into trouble. And he also knew that Sesshoumaru would be able to tell who he really was. Inuyasha was many things, but he was at least smart enough to not underestimate his brother.

"Humans must be more stupid than I thought, if they insist on climbing too tall trees and then falling out of them, pathetic."

Even though he knew he'd be discovered if he opened his mouth, it was damned difficult to keep it shut. It was not in his nature to shut up and take it, especially not when insults were thrown his way. It took massive effort, and a silent promise to himself that he was going to kill the stuck-up youkai when he was back to normal.

"Have you no ability to speak, human? Or are you merely terrified? I am not surprised. Humans are inferior in all ways to youkai, it is right for your kind to fear me." The youkai sneered at the feeble little human groveling at his feet.

"Shut up, you fucking bastard! You know nothing about humans or their abilities so just shut the fuck up!" And there he just proved his stupidity once again by not keeping his fucking mouth shut. He stayed down on the ground, mostly due to the fact that he'd sprained his ankle and couldn't risk getting up without embarrassing himself and facing more insults.

"Inuyasha?" That sounded faintly surprised, Inuyasha thought with a small sting of pride. There wasn't much that could surprise his brother.

The hanyou turned human could feel the sudden scrutiny. The identical set of golden eyes roamed over his body, taking in all the changes of his appearance. The black as night hair, the dark blue eyes, the ears were less prominent in human form, making them less noticeable than usual.

"I must say, little brother, this human shape becomes you and your feeble strength." The words were said mockingly and were followed by a nasty little holier-than-thou smirk on his arrogant face.

Inuyasha saw red. He pushed himself up on his knees and thereafter his feet, subtly favoring his hurting ankle, hoping the youkai didn't notice. "Well, what the hell do you care? You've never cared about anything concerning me before, don't pretend to fucking start now, asshole!"

That earned him a glare. A very hot glare that made him feel like he was on fire. It was probably because he was human at the moment

The human Inuyasha glared right back. "You know what? I don't care, just beat it! I don't want to spend any time with someone that hates my very existence, so just get the fuck out of here, you bastard!"

Suddenly Inuyasha found it very hard to breathe, as his throat was neatly encircled by five long fingers with pointy claws and his back pressed painfully into the bark of his previous hiding tree. He cursed the fact that Testsuaiga was worthless during this night and just rattled weakly in its sheath at his side as he was jostled around.

"I wonder if you value your life at all, hanyou. I would assume since you insist on constantly insulting this Sesshoumaru, the answer to that answer would be negative." The claws dug their way further into his neck. The kotodama rosary crunched when they came into contact with the youki that leaked from the fingers.

Inuyasha struggled weakly against the grip that held him securely against the tree. The bark was poking him in the back and ass, which felt plain weird and damn painful. His human throat produced a weak sounding growl, sounding pathetic in his state. For the thousandth time in his life he cursed his human body.

"I wonder what you plan to do in this state, little brother. You are too weak cause harm to this Sesshoumaru, and I could easily kill you if you chose to try to escape by foot."

The hanyou understood his chances of survival were slim if he should get away from the bastard in front of him, something that was impossible as it was. Even though he knew it was futile, his struggles only intensified, he'd never dealt well when pressured and reacted mostly on instinct. Right now his instincts told him to do what he could to get out of the hold and as far away as possible from the dangerous youkai in front of him.

Said youkai growled warningly and tightened his grip even more, making it hard for the hanyou to draw breathe. His hands wrapped around the wrist of the demon, in a useless try to lessen the pressure around his neck. "Cease your struggling, Inuyasha. As much as I'd like to tear your throat out I have another agenda for coming this way."

Inuyashas dark blue eyes shot up to meet the golden ones in front of him. Something in those eyes told him that Sesshoumaru told him the truth. His struggles faded and died away.

The hand left his throat, but the hands around the pale wrist held on, without the hanyou noticing. "Then why mess with me? You could have just walked past and left me alone."

An annoyed sigh left the tightly drawn mouth of his half brother. The warm breath briefly ran over Inuyashas face. "I would have, but you insisted on falling down and taking me with you. This was most unfortunate. I am now late. This Sesshoumaru is never late."

"Late for what?" For all Inuyasha knew of his brother, he'd never have appointments. His hands tightened around the pale wrist. It looked damn suspicious to him, but he kept his mouth shut for now.

"Not that it has anything to do with a filthy hanyou like you, but I fear I will be held back even longer. This Sesshoumaru has been challenged for the lands he commands. I must defend what is rightfully mine. Now, would you please let go of my hand so I might get there in time for the fight?"

Inuyasha dropped his eyes to his hands and, noticing he was gripping his brothers wrist like a love struck girl, let go like Sesshoumaru had a catching disease. His eyes made their way back up to his brother's eyes and just stared, searching for an answer to a question he wouldn't ask.

Another put-upon sigh from the youkai. "If I am not in time I automatically admit defeat and fathers former lands are his until I challenge him for it."

"That doesn't sound so bad. So you miss the fight, and the chance to really tear the idiot a new one, but you can always just challenge him and beat his ass to the ground to get them back, right?"

Inuyasha felt relieved that it wasn't any more serious and was about to draw a relieved breath when he saw his brothers face. A great frown made his normally beautiful, yes beautiful, even Inuyasha could admit that, face to contort in an ugly grimace.

"You think like a human, just like you were raised. When a youkai gets defeated in challenge or neglects to answer the challenge, the right to challenge for the land back is restricted to the next generation."

"Wait, what! So you're saying that only your brats can get the land back? What kind of messed up rule is that?" To say the hanyou was infuriated was to put it mildly.

The youkai looked taken aback at the hanyou vehement response. "This Sesshoumaru does not understand why a hanyou like you would care about youkai lands or rituals."

Inuyasha glared at him. "Asshole. That's none of your fucking business. Now get moving so you make it and beat the shit of the asshole that challenged you. Only I can be the one to beat you in a fight, bastard."

An irritated growl could be heard from the youkai. Inuyasha was pleased, only he could make the bid bad lord of the western lands growl like that. He turned around even though he knew it was a bad idea. It wasn't easy to protect his back after all. He looked up at the tree and wondered how the hell he would get back up there with his bad foot.

Suddenly there was a weird sound, kind of like a bird flies by right beside your ear, and he could not feel the ground under him of the tree beneath his hand. Before he had time to think anymore, he and Sesshoumaru landed on the branch he'd previously occupied.

"What the hell, asshole! What do you think you're doing?" It wasn't until now he noticed the long, strong arm covered in silk that was wrapped around his waist securely.

"Since you are the only one who will defeat me as you say, this Sesshoumaru would like to ensure your continued existence until the time comes to show you who will defeat who." With that, he smoothly let go of the hanyou, turned into a little ball of light and zoomed away through the forest.

Inuyasha was alone again. He'd thought it would be a relief to be left alone after meeting the powerful youkai when he himself was as weak a baby, but it really felt kinda lonely. "Keh. Why would I miss that bastard? He's nothing but trouble." With that thought, he curled up into his customary position and arranged Tetsuagia so that it would poke him in the cheek, just enough to make it too uncomfortable to even think about going to sleep.

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Some days later, Inuyasha was lounging around near the well, where he usually spent his time. The villagers were still wary and hostile towards him, even though their old miko Kaede was openly treating him as a friend and citizen of the village. She employed his greater strength when it came to lifting, pulling and pushing heavy things. Heavy as in would-take-ten-humans-to-do-this.

The children of the village were of course scared shitless of him, thanks to their parents blabbing all kinds of shit to them. They would play in an open square in the middle of the village, and sometimes he could see how they just stood and stared at him. He didn't know if it was the concept that he was a hanyou that made them so fascinated with him, or that he was helping the village in spite of his kind, meaning youkai, being vicious and hateful toward humans.

Not that he gave a shit. Let the fucking kids be scared of him, it was less of bother that way. 'Cause there was no way he was feeling lonely. Nope, all his friends had abandoned him and left to continue their own lives. That everyone had left like there was a youkai holding the pointy end of a sword to their asses once Naraku was defeated meant nothing.

The well was as usual dark and quiet. Nothing there anymore except a dark hole in the ground.

Inuyasha knew it was foolish to hope, but he couldn't help himself and jumped down every time he went there. Always, disappointment waited for him when there was no blue light or weird smells attacking his nose. Afterwards, he sat on the wooden walls surrounding the well, staring at nothing and wishing he had someplace else to go.

But the village was all he had. He had been pinned to a fucking tree for fifty years, and both before and after that he'd had connections with the village. First with Kikyo and later with Kagome. Both names stung a little in his chest, mostly since he hadn't been able to give them what they had wanted.

Thus, even though the villagers hated him and wished him as far away as possible from their little village, he had nowhere else to go and this was home to him, in a weird way where no one wanted him.

Before he became depressed like a little kid, he shook of the crappy feelings and rose, preparing to back to the village, see if the old hag needed something done or whatever. Otherwise, he'd just go to a tree and make himself comfortable on a branch.

He was just on his way when he caught a familiar scent and growled instinctively. The scent seemed to be coming from the vicinity of the village, so he picked up his pace and arrived in seconds. What he saw made him stop and stare dumbly.

There, his youkai brother was fighting with the men of the village. If you could call that fighting, he was really just tossing them on their bony asses as they kept coming. He hadn't even unsheathed Tokijin and none of the poison shit was leaking from him.

Inuyasha had seen enough. He stormed over, pissed as hell. "What the hell do you think you're doing asshole? Leave them the hell alone!" He planted himself right in front of the youkai, deliberately stopping both sides from attacking temporarily. He was not certain that either the humans or Sesshoumaru would attack each other through him, but he chanced going in obnoxious. If nothing, he'd saved the humans lives for a few seconds anyway.

"Inuyasha, I suggest you remove yourself before I do it for you." The youkais eyes glinted like golden steel and he was tenser than Inuyasha had ever seen him before.

"Like hell. Not until you tell me why the hell you're attacking the people of this village. They haven't done anything to you!"

A growl rose from the throat of the bastard. "Little brother, these humans have done this Sesshoumaru wrong in an inexcusable way. They have kidnapped my charge and are currently hiding her from me. This is punishable by death. My revenge will not wait, now move Inuyasha."

The words were spoken in his usual smooth monotone, but Inuyasha could easily hear the disturbance underlining them. Worry? For what? The small, irritating human girl he always had trailing him and worshipping his every step? Inuyasha pushed down the feelings welling up inside him vehemently, worried about what they might make him say or do with his brother so close.

He turned towards the villagers, glaring at them, and his glare was just as effective as Sesshoumarus. "What the hell! Is this true? If so, I'll fucking let him kill you, idiots."

The villagers looked both angry and fearful at the comment. One man stepped forward. "The poor child was obviously affected by travelling with that abomination. She was spouting nonsense about his supposed kindness. We have left her somewhere where he cannot go, to help her recover her senses. She will soon be cured and ready to go home with a family." He looked smug that they'd managed to outsmart the youkai.

"The fuck! You idiots, you're just asking for death at this rate. Stop interfering with youkai who can crush you with his little toe, damn it!"

The men tittered among themselves. "Yeah, this bastard standing behind me? Lord of the fucking western lands. What does that tell you?"

Sesshoumaru sighed behind his back. "Probably nothing, hanyou. Human brain capacity is notably low. This Sesshoumaru could rule these lands and those living here would probably not know it until I chose to reveal it."

"Take a hike Sesshoumaru!" The hanyou looked meaningfully at the bastard, not believing what he was about to do. "I don't want to see you here again, or you're gonna find yourself beaten a second time."

The youkais expression darkened, but Inuyasha could almost see the wheels turning at break neck speed inside his skull. Sesshoumaru managed to keep his pride from speaking and slowly turn around. "This Sesshoumaru will be waiting in the forest for the rematch, little brother. Be sure to not keep me waiting."

Translation: whatever you do, do it quickly and I might spare your life. Meet me in the forest for a dressing down like no other.

Inuyasha didn't need anything more than that. "Listen idiots. Either you tell me where the hell that girl is and live with only a beating, or you don't tell me anything and don't live at all. What's it gonna be?"

Not too long after that, the hanyou made his way into the forest, pleased with the way he'd mopped the ground with the villagers faces. He hadn't hurt them too much, nothing broken. Mostly shaken the lot up pretty good. They would be thinking twice the next time they refused him anything.

Seeing no hint of his older brother he sniffed the air until he caught the specific tang that was exclusively Sesshoumaru. Trailing the scent, he found his brother sitting against a tree, looking like usual imposing self. Inuyasha grinned. He'd come upwind, so Sesshoumaru had probably not smelt him coming, and judging by the way he'd not even looked toward him, he'd not heard him either.

Making sure to hide his scent, the hanyou crept nearer. His ears were alert and listening for the slightest noise from the youkai. When none came he leaped up in the air and came down hard on top of his brother. The unsuspecting victim vanished immediately after contact was made and Inuyasha found himself on the floor being poked by Tokijin on the side of his neck.

"Hanyou, what is your intention for attacking this Sesshoumaru?" Though Inuyasha couldn't see him with his face pressed into the ground, but he could feel the golden eyes roving over his body, checking for any hidden weapon no doubt.

"If you don't let me up I can't answer asshole." His voice came out muffled and he got a mouthful a leaves and dirt for his trouble but he felt the tip of the sword move from his neck and rolled over on his back. However, when he made an attempt to sit, the cold tip was back at his neck.

Inuyasha spit out most of the shit in his mouth but he really needed to gargle. "You will explain yourself or suffer the consequences." The sword cut a shallow wound in his cheek, probably meant to scare him but only made him furious.

"I don't have to explain anything to you. Now let me up damnit or you will never get the kid back." Though this was nothing unusual about the brothers' meeting he really didn't feel like exchanging insults right now.

The sharp tip slowly, distrustfully, disappeared from his body and Inuyasha rose from the ground, irritated as hell. "Seriously, killing my good mood. Fucking damnit."

"I suggest you stop the use of foul language and tell me where to find Rin."

The hanyou looked at his half brother. His features were drawn and his whole body was tense and seemed on edge. The bastard must be furious, knowing he couldn't get the kid without Inuyashas help.

"Yeah, yeah, hold your horses. She's safe for the moment and she aint going anywhere." He brushed himself of, feeling a lot of dead leaves fall off his body. He suddenly felt a crinkle inside his ear cavity, making him freeze.

His fingers reached up and tried to get it, but it was wedged in a place where he couldn't get it without seeing properly. He swore softly under his breath and tried to not wiggle his ears and lodge the damn thing even deeper inside the ear.

He tensed as long fingers made contact with his sensitive ear, fingers that didn't belong to him. They deftly dug into his ear and plucked the offensive leaf out, brushing the most sensitive spot on Inuyashas body, just to the left of his ear.

A low growl sounded, Inuyasha was embarrassed to realize it was him. The fingers hesitated and then returned, scratching softly and then more firmly when the growls continued. Inuyashas eyes grew heavy and his body relaxed as he instinctively leaned into the pleasurable contact.

A displeased sound rose up in his throat when the fingers abruptly stopped and disappeared altogether. When the hanyou managed to get his body to respond like he wanted to again, he looked up at his brother. Sesshoumaru was looking at his hand like he'd never seen it before. Then he seemed to come to some kind of conclusion and glared at it before dropping it back to his side.

"I have waited long enough. You will tell me where my charge is so I can fetch her." His voice was hard and Inuyasha felt it was serious this time so he decided to answer the uptight youkai.

"She's at a place not far from here, a small village, built for healing. The good thing is that it's a place for healing, so fighting is not allowed there. It's a strict rule which everyone around the village seems to respect as well. The bad thing is that it's impossible for you to get the kid back on your own. The place is so fucking warded that you'd probably get fried if you tried to enter."

Sesshoumaru growled, mightily displeased. Inuyasha could understand that someone like his brother, who'd always done what he pleased and never needed the help of other people, would find the situation utterly humiliating. The concept of asking someone for help was probably as unheard of as the prospect of losing a fight against a hanyou.

"You will take me there, hanyou. There is nothing that can hinder this Sesshoumaru." The arrogant bastard sounded so bloody sure of himself in that moment that it pissed him off. There had probably been nothing that went wrong for the bastard before, everything had probably been handed to him on a silver platter.

"Yeah, it's not that easy. That village is supposed to lay on an island outside the coast to the east. I have no idea how to get there."

The lord of the western lands looked thoughtful. Secretly, Inuyasha thought he looked dignified. A fact he'd never confess too. "I do know what island you are talking about. The youkai in charge of the eastern lands could be a problem though."

Inuyasha frowned. "How can he be a problem? Have you met him before?"

Sesshoumaru sighed. "The fight you almost managed to make me late for was with him. Banteki, like his name insinuates, is a barbarian. He does not hesitate to rip the intestines from prey and youkai alike. Of course, this Sesshoumaru has never lost a match against him."

He looked very pleased with himself as he said it, and Inuyasha understood that feeling perfectly. The wonderful feeling of beating an opponent stronger and more cruel into the ground. "But the chances of running into him is pretty slim right? It's not like he'll be hunting for us as soon as we set a foot into his lands, is he?"

"Unfortunately, that is likely. Banteki has had a grudge," said with great distaste, "against me since childhood. He is determined to beat me in a fight and will not stop at using dirty methods and cheating. This Sesshoumaru is not easily beaten of course. Underhanded fighting is dishonorable and may only be used in battles of life and death."

"So, basically this guy hates you and won't hesitate to come after you as soon as you make a move on his lands. Wonderful. Like my life wasn't difficult enough." The hanyou sighed. "Let's go. Even if he's going to attack, there's two of us and one of him. He's bound to lose. I could beat his ass on my own, but being two means it would take less time."

Sesshoumaru took lead and started to walk. Inuyasha joined him, but not behind as followers do. He took the place beside his brother, marking them as equals for those who came across them.

That did not sit well with the youkai. He snarled viciously and flung out a hand filled with sharp claws in Inuyashas direction. The hanyou ducked, but in the next moment he had his back pressed against a tree, again.

"What the hell! Stop trying to mince me, asshole!" The claws at his throat tightened and but the snarl calmed down a bit.

"You are not allowed that position, hanyou. Only those this Sesshoumaru consider worthy of it may walk beside me." For some reason, the youkai seemed unnaturally mad for Inuyashas gesture. Much more that ought to be needed in youkai society.

"I will walk wherever I damn well please, asshole. Now let me the fuck go." Amazingly the claws left him and he could peel himself of the tree.

"I wonder if you are ignorant or simply stupid, hanyou. Not even you could miss the significance of the position beside the leader." The youkai may have let go of the hanyou, but his glare continued to shot fire at him.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, bastard. And you're not the leader. There is no leader here, but if anyone should be one it's me."

Sesshoumaru growled, loudly. "You are weak, young and of small stature. You are not fit to be a leader when this Sesshoumaru who is many times stronger and more capable of leading is here." As if to demonstrate his greater strength he punched his half brother right in the stomach. Hard, not holding back as was the usual with Inuyasha.

Inuyasha curled in on himself, intent on protecting his sensitive belly from more abuse. "Keh, asshole! What the hell did you do that for?" The words, hateful as they may be, were strained.

The youkai said nothing, only continued on his way. He'd only gotten a few meters when he heard a thud behind him. He turned to see Inuyasha slumped over in the grass, holding his stomach and clenching his teeth.

"Hanyou, stop that this instant. You should be able to recover smoothly from that, otherwise you are much weaker than I thought. Now get up."

When the hanyou didn't answer, Sesshoumaru sighed and crouched down beside him. He told himself he only wanted to inspect the injury and was not worried at the slightest. As soon as he was in touching range of the hanyou a closed fist came out and punched him squarely in the jaw.

Stunned, the youkai fell back on his ass, a hand cradling the jaw. His eyes widened minutely in surprise at the action. Inuyasha was currently rolling around in the grass, alternately holding his stomach and his hand, which had bruised with all the force he'd put into the single punch.

"Ow, ow, ow, owfuckit. What the hell is your skin made of? Or do you have an invisible barrier covering it? I think I broke my hand. It's gonna take the whole day to heal."

Sesshoumaru was enraged. Only the filthy hanyou could invoke so strong feelings in the youkai. Not only had he managed to cut off his arm, now he had taken a cheap shot at his face and connected, utterly absurd. Sesshoumaru wondered how many times he might suffer injuries caused by the hanyou.

"Hanyou, I am willing to overlook your underhanded actions only because I do not trust the humans in that village to care for Rin properly. I must hurry, and you are to help me." The last sentence was choked out like it hurt to say it, which Inuyasha assumed it must.

"Alright, alright, I'll come. Just give me a moment to let my stomach settle." Carefully he stood, righted himself slowly and damn painfully. He stood upright and took a couple of steps before sinking back to the ground. "I think you hurt something important, asshole. I don't think I can walk for a while." The words were groaned out around the pain in his gut.

Sesshoumaru frowned. He had thought the hanyou would be more resilient. In all the fights he'd observed or been a part in Inuyasha had always seemed to not be hurt at all by the various wounds he'd acquired. Then again, the youkai hadn't stuck around to see him after the battle.

If Inuyasha was this affected by wounds, it was a wonder he'd survived this long by himself. It seemed like Inuyasha was quite lucky to be alive. He wondered if it was mostly due to luck and not skill at battle that had made his half brother survive for this long. Coming to think about it, he suddenly realized that even though Inuyasha behaved brazen and full of confidence, he was still very young and had not had a third of training at battle Sesshoumaru had had the privilege as a child.

Also, Sesshoumaru had had access to both his parents as a child, for however short a time, whereas Inuyasha had only had his mother for some years. A human mother that knew nothing about youkai traditions or life in general. An unknown feeling rose in the youkai. A feeling he didn't care to name.

"Are you able to make progress today?" The worst bite was gone from Sesshoumarus voice.

"I don't think so. Boy, you sure don't hold back." The hanyou was still semi-curled around his mid-section. He had undone his haori and was currently undoing the shirt under.

Sesshoumaru was amazed at the sight that met him at the sight of skin. The stomach area was massively bruised, a nasty green-yellow. Where his fist had made contact was the worst of the damage. The skin was twisted and the bruises were more reddish-black, indicating a lot of bleeding under the otherwise flawless skin.

"I did not know hanyou skin bruised so easily. I did not intend to cause serious damage."

Inuyasha looked up sharply. "Serious? This isn't serious. This is nothing, heals in a day at most. Serious is an arm cut off."

Sesshoumarus face darkened. "You should be proud hanyou. There are very few youkai that has managed to damage this Sesshoumaru. Not one of them caused as great a damage as a certain hanyou."

Inuyasha smiled ferally, his fangs showing. "You don't have to tell me, I'm damn proud of that."

The youkai sneered. "I'm sure. However, right now you are the wounded one. Since you cannot travel any further today, we will make camp here and continue tomorrow."

With that, the youkai turned and disappeared from the small, very small, clearing. Inuyasha figured he was of doing whatever it was he did all day and focused on sitting still 'cause moving hurt like a sonofabitch.

Sometime later, as the sun was setting, Sesshoumaru returned with an armful of firewood. Without saying a word he began to make a fire. From somewhere, Inuyasha had no idea where, he pulled two rabbits, freshly killed and smelling freaking delicious. As Inuyashas stomach growled, which made him curl around it again, he realized that he hadn't eaten anything since that morning.

Sesshoumaru tossed one of the rabbits at him. "I happened across these. Enjoy."

"I'm starving. Haven't eaten in too long." He reached for a nearby branch lying on the ground, cleaning it and making it a smooth stick. He quickly gutted the rabbit and cleaned it out before spearing it on the stick and stuck it in the ground near the fire, waiting for it to cook. He noticed the youkai staring at him, still holding his own rabbit, though he had sat down across from him.

"What are you doing?" Inuyasha could hear how bewildered Sesshoumaru sounded.

"What, I'm cooking my food. It's natural. It's disgusting to eat it raw." Inuyasha wondered if it was some youkai trait, not cooking the food. He always got sick if he ate too much raw food, and right now he was starving and not caring for throwing up his next meal.

"Raw is how food is to be consumed. This cooking must do something unfortunate to the meat. It is shrinking on the stick and leaking fluids. It must be human tradition."

Inuyasha sighed. "You know what? I'm hungry, tired and in pain. I don't really feel like arguing so please just shut up and eat your fucking rabbit."

Surprisingly, the youkai obeyed, though that's probably not the right word for it, and stayed quiet. In seconds, he had devoured his rabbit and was tossing the scrawny remains into the forest. It took way longer for his own damn rabbit to be ready, but when it was it took only minutes before it was cleaned and he too threw the carcass into the woods.

"Ah, that hit the spot." He yawned hugely. He was dead tired, but he didn't trust Sesshoumaru as far as he could throw him, which required him to get close enough to do so. He was settling down for a long night of not sleeping when a voice cut into his conscious.

"This Sesshoumaru does not require sleep. I will keep watch tonight. You may sleep."

Inuyasha stared a long time at the youkai, who didn't return his gaze, before deciding to just sleep. His nose could not make out anything threatening about the words, and his nose told him the youkai was telling the truth. He trusted his instincts and knew he would wake up at the first sound of danger.

"Whatever. I'm going to sleep. Have a good time watching the vegetation grow." With those words he closed his eyes and drifted off.

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Thanks for reading! It was fun to write this, though the next chapter probably won't be uploaded sometime soon, since the fall semester has started, and university is killing me. I would really like to know what you think about this chapter. See you next time!


	2. Chapter 2

Here is the second chapter! I apologize for the very long wait, but since I'm currently in university, RL is constantly getting in the way of both my writing and my lovely beta – Falling Tenshi, who I thank for all her hard work!

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"I get that this island is far away, but how damn far is it?" Inuyasha was used to traveling, so walking for days was nothing new, but with a youkai who refused to respond to his idle chatter it was damn boring company. He had taken to blurting out random sentences to fill the silence. And to think, it had only been three weeks of traveling. Inuyasha dreaded the following days, or worse, weeks of travelling.

They were walking through the woods. The sun was shining. Everything was good. Except the quiet, everything was perfect. Inuyasha had always liked the silence, but when it wasn't his own choice it was unbearable. It was probably due to all his travelling with the group that made him used to all the noise.

He felt a pang of sadness at the thought of his mismatch group of youkai and humans. Travelling together with a common goal had given his life some kind of meaning instead of merely existing. As well as company and decent fighting partners they also provided a different outlook and opinions on life and happenings. He felt nostalgic just thinking about it, but it was hard for him to shake the thoughts from his mind. He considered the little group his pack, and it was hard to realize that everyone was gone. That they would never again be a pack. Inuyasha felt his ears droop depressingly against his head.

Suddenly, he realized Sesshoumaru was talking. "… even listening to me? Stupid hanyou, can't keep silent. It's a wonder you survived this long on your own…"

"Hey! I know how to be quiet. I have all I need to survive by myself and as you see I have everything intact, unlike someone else I know." It was unkind and hurtful of him, but he wasn't feeling topnotch at the moment.

Fortunately for him, Sesshoumaru seemed to be in a forgiving mood and ignored it. "The most important thing is missing from you it seems, while this Sesshoumaru have all the parts that count."

"I have all the bits I need! I still have both my balls, so you can't accuse of not having any!"

The youkai stopped walking. It was so sudden that Inuyasha walked straight into the slim, muscular back before he could stop himself. He stumbled back like his robes would catch on fire by prolonged touching with the youkai.

"I was implying your brain, dim-witted hanyou. And why would you bring up your scrotum? It has no connection to the conversation."

The hanyou blinked, surprised. It seemed his half-brother didn't know the gruesome fate of the male hanyou that was born. Inuyasha had been fortunate, his mother had spent most of their limited time together in the forest, and on the few occasions she needed something from the village she never left him alone with any of the humans. A time or two he was allowed to play with his most prized toy, a bright red ball on the outskirts while his mother supervised him from a nearby rock where she sat and rested.

On those times the villagers gathered to stare at him and whisper among themselves. He could hear them, though his hearing was not at all fully developed yet. He also knew his mother could not hear them, and the one time he asked about a comment he'd heard, she cried. He didn't ask again.

"You honestly don't know? There is something that my all-knowing older brother doesn't know but I do? The world must be coming to an end."

Inuyasha spun around and eyed the horizon suspiciously, expecting to see the heaven falling downward and the trees going up in flames.

Sesshoumaru sighed. "Would you stop blabbering about things that make no sense and tell this Sesshoumaru what you meant by your comment before I slit your throat?"

"Chill, I'll enlighten you. Every male hanyou that are born are castrated by the people in the village their born to. Since there are mostly male youkai that rape human women, hanyou children are usually born into human villages. All human hate and fear youkai. I think they believe that by cutting of the dick and balls they're weakening the youki of the children. At the same time, they are protecting the women from any future rape."

Sesshoumaru was quiet. For a long moment he just stood there and stared straight ahead. He seemed bothered by what his half-brother had just told him. Inuyasha wasn't certain how he knew, but he could pick up on deep resentment from his brother. He didn't know if it was directed at himself or not, but he was used to being resented and hated by his surroundings so he wasn't too bothered by it.

"What do the humans do to female hanyou? You never mentioned that."

Inuyashas ears drooped. "For some reason, most hanyou that are born are male. The few female hanyou that are born are killed at birth."

The youkai looked disturbed by the information. Inuyasha could smell his unease in the air, it was like smelling a sour fruit.

Sesshoumaru, the hanyou hater, could not be feeling remorse for the hanyou that lost their lives. He was the epitome of an unfeeling bastard. Inuyasha wasn't sure the youkai ever felt anything, and the smell was probably just something in the forest that messed with his nose.

"Humans always think their way is the best. They think that their choices are the right ones, even if it destroys other lives."

"You don't know shit about humans, so don't even pretend." Inuyasha defended his human friends, and the humans in the village who had cared for him, however unwillingly. Those were the only friends and accomplices he had, and he cherished the memories of the happy days they spent together.

The youkai glared at him. "The humans in your little group made you protect them, the miko made you do her bidding by binding you with a spell. However much you want to imagine they treated you as a friend, they were only seeing you as a weapon to use when it suited them."

While he talked, the hanyou got more and more angry. By the end he was practically fuming. "You don't know what you're talking about, bastard. My human friends and I understand each other. We respect each other and each strength that we had together. They couldn't have killed Naraku without me of course. But I couldn't have killed him by myself either, and you weren't there when more power was needed! So don't talk about things you don't understand, asshole!"

Inuyasha was so angry he saw red. He turned tail and stalked away from the path he and his brother was standing on. He heard the youkai behind him take a couple of steps in the same direction, but he obviously thought better of it and stayed put.

He didn't how long he walked, but the sun had sunk to the treetops and the shadows had lengthened considerably. He was still angry, but his rational mind had started to turn over the words of his brother.

Of course his friends didn't use him for his strength. They didn't hate him either. Of course he acted gruff and was very uncouth in his way, but he had never smelled anything other than friendly smells from them, except when they were mad at him of course.

When they were angry at him, they yelled and screamed and cursed. Miroku and Sango yelled often and hit him over the head. Kagome usually yelled at him a lot, a lot more than anyone else did, and sat him. Often. Multiple times in a row. The force of the spell pulled at him so hard that his head, which usually hit the ground first, often hurt and he developed many head injuries if the double visions and migraines were any signs.

But the feelings of anger never lingered, and they never developed into hate or pity. His companions were his family. His very own, twisted little family. God knows he felt more like a brother to all of them than his real brother.

He'd known about Kagomes feelings for him, on a certain level. He knew she wanted and almost expected something more than friendship from him, but he didn't know what. His relationship with Kikyou had been very innocent and too brief for him to really know what he was feeling and even less what she was feeling for him.

He was still very young after all, despite having lived over more than five decades. He'd spent more than half his life nailed to a tree, sleeping. During those years, time had stopped for him. He hadn't aged, physically or mentally. He'd stayed a teenager for longer than he was supposed and the time was slowly starting to catch up to him.

His abilities were still developing and he was honing his skills in battle as often as he could, which wasn't often now that Naraku was gone. It seemed like the whole country was at peace. In the latest year, he had battled no worse than a bunch of bandits that had threatened his village. Not that he got anything for his troubles, only Kaede thanked him for taking care of the villagers.

The sorry lot would probably not have a village to come back to if the bandits had had their way. Apparently all the youkai had heard about his part in offing the spider demon and now most of them avoided the forest and the village.

Other than that, the only enemies he faced on a fairly regular basis were the local wildlife that wandered around the forest and caused trouble for the villagers. Had he been living like Sesshoumaru, he'd probably be as skilled as he could be at his age, but with things looking like they did, he was doomed to a life of a hanyou. Alone, with weak powers and no possessions of his own except for his sword.

Suddenly overcome by sadness he looked around his desolate surroundings. The trees of the forest continued on forever it seemed, almost untouched by time and all alone, just like himself. He was destined to roam the country alone, unwanted and hated by humans and youkai alike.

Sesshoumaru fumed. The stupid hanyou who thought he knew everything. The few times he had visited his little half brother and the strange pack he traveled with he had smelled the hatred of the humans.

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Inuyasha apparently had a very weak sense of smell if he couldn't pick up on the feelings of the humans. Or he was so starved for affection that he ignored the obvious. Either reason seemed plausible to the youkai. God knows he had never answered the hanyous cries for attention when they were younger.

Their father had been a fool for having a pup with a human woman. The outcome was doomed to be a catastrophe. Of course, since the pup had been able to defeat the dark hanyou that even he, the great Sesshoumaru, had been unable to lay a hand on was admirable.

But Inuyashas fate was to spend eternity alone. Due to his youkai heritage, his life would be prolonged, almost as long as any full blooded youkai. This meant that every connection he made with humans was bound to be broken by the passage of time if not before. The hanyou was an unfortunate mix of human and youkai, wanted by neither and hated by all. There was no place in this world for those of mixed blood.

When the youkai became aware of his surroundings again, though he would never admit he had been lost in thought, the sun had set and it was dark. The hanyou had not yet returned and Sesshoumaru wondered if he had fallen off a cliff or met a strong youkai.

He delicately scented the air and strode towards the hanyous location. He walked for a long time, then wondered if he had been mistaken. He scented the air again and growled, speeding up his pace. A familiar scent was mixing itself with that of his brother. Banteki was following the hanyou. Why, Sesshoumaru didn't know. Inuyasha was nothing special.

Suddenly, he could see Inuyasha through the trees. He was sitting with his back against a tree, bleeding from the shoulder. In front of him stood Banteki, with his bloody sword pointed at the hanyous throat. Tetusuaiga lay to the side, knocked away. Sesshoumaru wondered if the sword had tasted any blood before it landed.

He surveyed the scene. His brother seemed helpless and defeated, and he wondered if he should step in or just let the hanyou be killed. It didn't really matter to him either way, but Rin would mourn the loss of a friend, even if she hardly ever saw said friend.

Abruptly, the hanyou dipped his claws into his own wound and leapt forward. "Sankon Tesshou!" The blood he'd soaked his claws in formed arcs that flew through the air at the obviously startled youkai. They connected to his cheek, drawing blood. Banteki reached up his hand to the wound and stepped back.

"For a hanyou, you're pretty feisty. I like that in an opponent." The youkai sheathed his sword. "I would appreciate if you would honor me with a duel."

"Keh, I'll take you on anytime." The foolish hanyou rose and turned to pick up his sword, turning his back to his opponent.

Sesshoumaru could hardly believe the stupid move. One of the first and most important lessons in battle was to never turn your back towards the opponent unless on wanted to be attacked.

In a flash, he stood before Inuyasha, Tokijin in his hand. "Banteki, I recommend you not to fight this hanyou unless you want to be killed."

The other youkai raised a dark eyebrow. "Oh, have this little one been causing trouble for the big bad Lord of the West? I admit, I was intrigued by the lingering smell of you on this hanyou, though his persistence in a fight is what held my interest."

The stupid hanyou was raging behind him, but he paid him no mind. Sesshoumaru remained quiet, just staring at Banteki, just waiting for the next move. He hadn't expected for it to come from behind.

Tetsuaigas sheath, containing the sword, hit him over the head, not fazing him in the least. The dark youkai in front of him laughed blithely. "I knew the hanyou had guts, but to go up to the great Lord himself with a move like that… it's plain insulting, Sesshy."

Sesshoumarus eyes narrowed dangerously. "I have warned you many times before Banteki, not to call me that. My limit is crossed and I will not hesitate to separate your useless head from your shoulders."

"Bastard! What the hell do you think you're doing? I can take care of myself, now move, damnit!" The hanyou was clearly upset, but seeing as how he'd been about to get himself killed by Sesshoumarus most annoying foe, he didn't pay it much mind.

"Are you defending me asshole?" Inuyasha was getting more and more angry, his language becoming more and more dreadful. "I can take care of myself in a fight, bastard! Go the fuck away!"

"Inuyasha, this youkai is the Lord of the East, Banteki. I am positive that if he so wished, you would be quickly reduced to a red stain on the root of a tree."

"You have to be kidding me! I defeated Naraku, this guy's small fry compared to him! Now fuck off!"

Banteki had obviously tired of this banter as he once again drew his sword and leveled it at Seshoumaru. "If you wish to fight, oh great Lord of the West, a fight you shall have. But I will have my fight with the hanyou sooner or later. You cannot stop me, and from the sound of it, you cannot stop him either."

Sesshoumaru said nothing, just glared at his opponent. He got in fighting position and redied (SP?) himself for the coming battle. Inuyasha seemed to sense that this had crossed over into a power battle and that he was out of the equation. He slunk off up into a tree.

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The air crackled around the two formidable youkai. Inuyasha could not deny that the two youkai were more powerful than anything or anyone he had ever met before. But he figured since he had managed to cut the arm of Sesshoumaru, he had a good chance of besting Banteki in a fight.

Both youkai stood still, it seemed like they were measuring their youki against each other. Slowly they started to circle around the tiny clearing, looking as relaxed as ever. The only thing betraying the intention to fight was the drawn swords and the hateful look in both pair of eyes.

He knew from experience that the white-haired youkai would never lower himself to make the first move, he'd learned at least that much from all their fights. The dark youkai apparently knew that also for it didn't take long time of stalling before he came flying at his opponent.

His eyes widened. There appeared to be only two blurs before him one white and one black, intertwined in the battle. But as his eyes adjusted themselves to the speed of the battle he saw that Banteki was constantly moving while Sesshoumaru was mostly staying put and defending against the attacks that were raining down on him.

Inuyasha recognized the strategy. It was one that had been used on him multiple times in their brotherly fights. Sesshoumaru was checking out the moves and hits for flaws. He knew that the exact moment he saw an opening, the fight was over and the opponent would probably not be breathing anymore.

This fight was longer than most he had fought with the bastard though. He wondered why. Perhaps it accounted to the two of them being full blooded youkai and thus having more endurance than he, a lowly hanyou.

Suddenly Inuyasha could see an opening in the dark youkais movements, leaving his side wide open for attack. Strangely enough, he wanted to shout out to his brother, but it seemed Sesshoumaru had also seen the opportunity and he went for it.

With just one fast forward thrust of Sesshoumaru, with Tokijin held securely in hand, it was over. The sharp blade was run clean through the guts of Banteki, felling him instantly. Inuyashas knowledge of the inside of the human body was limited, but he knew some important things were located inside the stomach area.

Banteki sagged to the ground, holding his side and glaring daggers at Sesshoumaru. "You may have won this time, but just wait. I grow stronger each time we meet." A trickle of blood ran down the corner of his mouth, marring the perfect complexion.

Sesshoumaru sneered and sheathed his sword. "I would have thought, as often as you have been spewing those words, that you would have defeated me already. But all you have is numerous words and no ways of making them come true."

Inuyasha jumped nimbly down to the ground. He looked the wounded Banteki, silently admiring the clean cut and mostly bloodless defeat. "Damn. It would have nice if the old man had been around to teach me some moves too. If I knew how to do that, no one would be able to beat me."

"You do not have enough power for that particular move, Inuyasha. It requires more youki than you possess and more physical power than you'll ever have as a hanyou." He looked thoughtful. "Although I suppose, if a hanyou could master that move, it would be you."

Inuyasha was surprised. Praise from his brother? What was happening to the natural order of things?

Banteki snorted. "The great Sesshoumaru, so easily giving praise to a lowly hanyou? My eyes and ears must deceive me."

"Your eyes and ears have never worked properly Banteki. I would suggest leaving now, before I decide to add to your injury." Sesshoumaru glared at the youkai, clearly wishing him dead.

"Yeah, yeah, don't pop a vessel. I just wonder what Sesshoumaru, who loathes hanyou and humans are doing travelling with a hanyou. A hanyou who looks remarkably like himself." The dark youkai looked curiously between Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru.

"Do not trouble yourself with matters that do not concern you, Banteki. Now be gone from this Sesshoumarus sight."

With that, the powerful Taiyoukai of the west turned his back to the other youkai and started back on his course. Inuyasha, he knew, would follow, as he was reeking with nervousness.

Inuyasha hurried after his brother, though he would never admit to anything of the sort. He could feel Bantekis eyes on him all the way. There was something about the dark youkai that had him on edge. Inuyasha didn't like the smell of him when his attention lay on the hanyou.

"Hey, Sesshoumaru, how much farther is the island? I'm feeling an urge to return to familiar grounds."

"Are you looking for something? I know these lands like the back of my hand. I could help, for a price of course."

The voice came from Inuyashas side, very much inside his personal space. The youkai had moved too fast for the hanyou to have heard him, which made him jump quickly to the other side, straight into Sesshoumarus armor.

"Ow, shit! That armor's too pointy damn it." He massaged his shoulder, wondering if the skin was pierced.

A hand was laid on top of his on his shoulder. "I could help you with that too, for free." Bantekis voice caressed the sensitive fur of his ear, making it twitch uncontrollably.

"Jeezes, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Inuyasha batted at the larger hand that lay atop his, but he only succeeded in making Banteki grip tighter.

Then, just like that, the hand was ripped of his shoulder by a growling white youkai with eyes that were shooting arrows.

Without a word, Seshoumaru lifted the other youkai by his arm, flinging him further inside the forest. Then, he just turned and continued walking. If Inuyasha hadn't smelt his agitation, he would never have suspected his brother felt any different than usual.

"Inuyasha, come. We will reach the island sooner if we do not stop and engage in conversation with idiotic youkai."

"For once, I agree with you. Let's go." Inuyasha hurried after his brother, glancing over his shoulder once, seeing the brown eyes peeking out from the brush, burning into his own. He quickly looked back on the road. He felt those eyes on his back a long time afterwards.

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The sun was beginning to rise in the horizon, signaling the end of the night. The brothers had not stopped at all during the night. Sesshoumaru wanted to get to the island as soon as possible, and Inuyasha just wanted to put as much ground between themselves and Banteki.

But Inuyasha could feel the tiredness starting to creep up on him. Though he usually needed about as much sleep as a full blooded youkai the need for sleep got stronger the closer the moonless night got.

He figured it was about one week left before the dreaded night would arrive, which meant he would have to spend his night as a human with his asshole brother. Even though he hadn't been as insulting as Inuyasha was used to, he didn't look forward to the event. Spending the night as a human together with a human hating youkai that was likely to kill him, hurt him, or just spend the night insulting his abilities and making him feel like shit.

But thinking about that could wait. The main problem right now was battling his sleepiness. Inuyasha knew his abilities and the signs of his body very well, since he'd been on his own most of his life. He knew he wasn't going to last much longer.

He stumbled suddenly, having not looked properly at the road, and went down.

"Ouff!" Dirt filled his mouth, just like the old times, and he was suddenly, painfully reminded of all the times Kagome had sat him. He lay still for longer than necessary, relieving the sudden moments in time that would never return to him. At last, he sighed and heaved himself up to his knees. Looking up, he saw his brother staring at him.

"What? Never seen someone stumble before, idiot?" Inuyasha made his way to his feet, feeling a little dizzy. He suspected he would feel that way until he got a little sleep, but he didn't want to stop their journey now. They would lose a day's travelling at most, and he just wanted this to be over with so he could get back to the village and his forest and finally relax and get back to his own life.

"Are you well? You have not been your usual annoying self tonight." If Inuyasha didn't know better, he thought he could see worry reflected in the eyes of his older brother. But he did know better and knew it was just his imagination and the rising sun that was playing mind tricks on his tired mind.

"I'm fine, not that you care, just feeling a little tired after the fight with Banteki back there. I can go on walking all day." Of course, his stupid mouth was working against him, and let out a great big yawn in the middle of his little speech.

Sesshoumaru frowned, thinking hanyous were much weaker than he'd ever thought, if a small fight like this made them as tired as Inuyasha seemed to be. He also thought of every time they had fought as well, not recalling any time when his younger brother became like this, even when they had fought for hours.

"I see hanyous really are as pathetic as they seem."

Sesshoumaru could feel the hanyou glare at him, ears flattening against his head. Inuyasha let out a growl, turned on his heel and started walking away from his older brother. He didn't need this shit! He had enough to worry about, with crazy youkai after him and some little girl that needed saving.

In a flash, his way was blocked by a silk clad, rock hard flesh wall. He glared up at his brother, one of his fangs peeking out from beneath his lip.

"What do you want now, asshole? I'm helping you for God knows what reason, and all you do is insult me! I'm done. I'm going back to the village."

With that said, he sidestepped Sesshoumaru, intent on continuing on his way. The air left his lungs when a pale hand encircled his wrist, yanking it, and him, backwards into Sesshoumarus chest, and the armor.

"Ouch! Holy shit, let me go, you motherfucker! Your armor is making tiny little holes into my back!" Inuyasha knew that at most, his fire rat robe was going to fray a little as the spikes on the armor slid back and forth across it, and Sesshoumaru probably knew that too, but Inuyasha was prepared to say and do almost anything to get away in that moment.

"Hanyou, this Sesshoumaru does not like the tone of voice you are using." The fingers around Inuyashas wrist was tense and the grip was bordering on painful.

"Well, 'this Sesshoumaru' can shove it! I don't care about what you do or think, asshole."

"But you care about what those humans in you former pack think, don't you?" Interestingly, Inuyasha tensed at the words, ears swiveling back, unintentionally showing his interest in the words. "I must say, Inuyasha, you choose the most interesting pack members. The Taijiya was constantly looking for a chance to slay you, although I'm sure you did not realize that, with you weak senses."

"Shut up…" The words were whispered, appearing to be dragged from the hanyou against his will.

"The monk smelled of suppressed hatred, and his eyes always shone of it when he looked at you."

"Shut up." Inuyashas breathing sped up as did his heart rate.

"I must say I sympathize with them, human as they might be, since you are very easy to detest. Even the miko showed signs of hating you once she realized how unnatural your kind is." The words was spit out through his tense lips.

"Shut up!" The hanyou ripped his arm from the clawed grip of his brother with enough force to spin him around, but instead of the expected outrage, Sesshoumaru saw golden eyes filled with wetness. Inuyasha quickly turned around and sprinted away.

He leapt into the trees and continued his journey away from his brother. He couldn't stay with Sesshoumaru anymore, that much was clear. He might be considered a fool for following someone who only insulted him, but the thought about being useless, as Sesshoumaru often called him, was suffocating. A stray thought swam into his mind, that helping his older brother was the only thing that had any worth for him anymore. The little girl didn't deserve to be kept away from her precious "Sesshoumaru-sama" and Inuyasha had been determined to see this through, before becoming forgotten, but now that was impossible.

So he ran, and continued to run until his breath came in pants and the wetness in his eyes had dried. Then he collapsed on the ground, leaned against a tree and tried to calm his racing pulse.

"Well, well, well. See who come running back. Finally decided that the asshole isn't worth it?"

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This was the second chapter! Please R&R, I love feedback! I'm trying my best to make the scene breaks visible, but what I do in the document doesn't show up in the published version. I hope this works.


	3. Chapter 3

Hi guys! I know it's been a long time, but now school's over for the summer, so I'll try to step up a bit, though RL is quite a bitch right now. This chapter is unbetaed, since it seems my beta has gone on vacation. I'll replace this with the finished version as soon as possible, but I thought you all deserved something after such a long time. Enjoy!

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Sesshoumaru stared dumbly, not that he'd ever admit it, after his brother. He'd expected a fight, some foul words and a more quiet night afterwards. Instead he got left alone by a teary eyed hanyou. It was almost enough to make him feel bad, but as he was Sesshoumaru nothing made him feel bad. Except perhaps the set of big teary doe eyes his ward presented him with on occasion, but that's neither here nor there.

Sesshoumaru settled down on the ground, awaiting his brothers' return, content to sit in the dark. He tried to focus his thoughts on Rin, and what was left of the journey to the island where she was kept, but his mind filled constantly with the image of wet golden eyes and an aura of sadness.

He sighed and rose to his feet. Even just sitting and waiting for the hanyou turned out to be impossible. He blamed Inuyasha.

He turned to where he had last seen his brother and started walking. His nose directed him to where his brother was currently located. Suddenly he picked up another familiar smell, one that made his hackles rise and a growl pour from his mouth. He sped up.

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"Banteki!" Inuyasha was instantly on his guard with a hand on the hilt of Tetsuaiga.

"Oh, Inuyasha, you remembered my name! I'm glad you do." A big grin stretched across his lips, making him look like the predator he was. He took a step closer. Inuyasha backed up.

The dark youkai continued his advance while Inuyasha kept backing up. Until his back hit a tree that is. He drew his sword and kept it at Banteki who came closer and closer. At last the two were nose to nose, only Tetsuaiga keeping them apart.

Feeling bold, Inuyasha poked him with the tip of his sword. He was very surprised when Banteki batted away the sword as if it was nothing more than a pesky fly, irritating him.

"You are surprised at my strength. That is good, a mate should be sure he is protected by the alpha male. But be aware, every challenge you throw at me I will defeat. You will be my mate, soon. And then I can do with you what I wish."

With those words, the youkai left, vanishing through the thick bushes. Inuyasha slid to ground, a feeling not unlike dread rising up inside of him. Not a second later, his brother came into sight. Inuyasha immediately rose and hid his feelings, though judging from the look on Sesshoumaru's face and the way he inhaled all the scents around him he wasn't successful.

"Inuyasha, why are you surrounded in Bantekis scent?" The words were growled, as if the youkai was angry. Inuyasha surmised that it was because the dark youkai had almost hurt what he perceived was his prey.

"Relax, he didn't touch me. And why the hell are you here? You obviously don't want me around. This gave you the perfect opportunity to just let me get out of your hair."

Sesshoumaru glowered at him.

"You forget that while you are able to step foot on the island that holds my charge, I cannot. As much as it pains me to admit, I need you to retrieve her for me."

Inuyasha blinked. It was surprising to hear those words coming from his proud brother.

"There's a fat chance of that ever happening again. All you do is insult me and my friends. I don't care if that is how full blooded youkai communicate, but I refuse to be treated like dirt."

"That is the way you have always been treated, yet when this Sesshoumaru lets you travel with him for a cause which makes you dreary life have a cause, you intend to leave and go back to merely existing once again? I do not understand your intentions, Inuyasha."

While he spoke, the youkai had made his way closer to the hanyou. Now he was within touching range and Inuyasha could see the indignation in his eyes more clearly. He could also see the elegant nose twitch slightly, making his brother look like a sniffing dog.

Inuyashas lips twitched. The likeness was a little too close to home in their case. Being dog youkai he'd had to live with barbs and insults his whole life. He was positive though that his brother had not, being an important lord and all.

"Inuyasha, it would seem that you had very close contact with Banteki a short while ago. His vile scent is all over your person. It almost smells like…"

Sesshoumarus eyes widened minutiously, just enough to recognize it for what it was if one knew him as well as Inuyasha. Suddenly he was pinned to a tree with his hands locked above his head and an insistent nose poking him in the neck.

"What the hell? Sesshoumaru, the hell do you think you're doing?"

He struggled, which was pointless. Sesshoumaru had enough strength in his one arm than Inuyasha had in both of his together. It was even more pointless, seeing as the new moon was only a couple of nights away at most.

Sesshoumaru growled. "Why do you carry the scent of a future mate claim on you?"

"What? I don't know what you're talking about, crazy bastard. Now let me go, damnit!"

Inuyashas persistent struggling yielded him nothing, but he figured it was the principle that counted. How strong Sesshoumaru, or any other youkai, had been, he would still be fighting with all his might.

"A male has made his intent known for all others that he means to take you as his mate. Why?"

He sounded mystified, like he couldn't believe that someone might want Inuyasha for anything other than for kicks. Inuyasha couldn't really blame him, the thought had never even occurred to him.

"I don't know. I didn't even know you could do that. I'm innocent!"

"Yes, I think you are in this particular case, as you say, innocent. Banteki was here moments before me, was he not? Do not bother to answer, I already know the answer. My nose is, after all, more accurate than your own. This scent is clearly his, and so this claim must belong to him as well. Why have you let another mark you thusly?"

Sesshoumaru looked as surprised as Inuyasha felt. Why would the bastard older brother care at all what the hanyou got into? He hadn't cared all those times Inuyasha had almost died. But this seemed to throw him in a different way, one Inuyasha hadn't known existed.

"If you would start listening, you would hear me when I say that it had nothing to do with 'letting' him do anything. How was I supposed to stop him from making something I didn't even know was possible?"

Sesshoumarus eyebrow rose and he stepped back, finally letting go of Inuyashas arms. Inuyasha could feel the blood returning to his fingers, making them tingle. Another sign of the pending new moon.

"It is no matter now. What is done is done. Let us continue on, Rin is waiting to be rescued, and you are to help me."

And just like that, as if the conversation was done and over, Sesshoumaru turned around and started back towards the trail they'd left. Inuyasha blinked, and a thought occurred to him.

"Hey! How am I supposed to get rid of this 'mark' thing? I don't want it."

Without even slight turn of his neck, the youkai continued on. It was quiet for a long while, the only sounds were of the forest surrounding them. Inuyasha figured he wasn't getting an answer from his stubborn-as-hell brother, and since his eyelids kept falling down over his eyes, he probably wouldn't be in any state to hear an answer.

It wasn't until the youkai no longer could hear Inuyasha trailing behind him that he turned around with a faint frown, wanting to get to the island soon. The frown faded when he saw his brother, standing with a hand on the trunk of a tree. With the other hand, he scrubbed furiously at his eyes, frustration clear in his scent.

"Inuyasha, what are you doing now? I need to get o the island."

Inuyasha looked blearily at him, before continuing to rub at his aching eyes.

"You know, while you probably could go on for several weeks without stopping to rest, some of us are not built like that. We've been walking for a long time, and I'm fucking tired, damnit!"

Sesshoumaru blinked. He was used to hearing all kinds of filth coming from his brothers mouth, but accompanied by his behavior, he could see something was bothering Inuyasha. Recalling the hanyous temper the last time they 'discussed' his former pack, Sesshoumaru concluded that the bad temper had remained.

"Inuyasha, if your human side is still upset about our earlier conversation, I advise you to control it before this Sesshoumaru leave you to the vultures." The youkai sneered at the implication that one could have feelings.

"I hate to burst your bubble, but this is a forest, vultures live in the large, sandy and hot as hell deserts, idiot. Frankly, the only thing that could count as a danger to my life here is you."

Inuyasha started to slide down the trunk, looking like he was going to pass out any second. The youkai looked faintly startled. He hadn't thought his brother would ever admit being inferior to the Lord of the West, and was pleased the hanyou had finally come to the realization that Sesshoumaru was stronger in every way.

That feeling of contentment, which he shouldn't feel (why was he feeling it?), didn't last long as soft snoring flooded his sensitive ears from where his brother sat on the ground. Leaning closer, he saw the hanyou had really fallen asleep, just like that.

Sesshoumaru scoffed, inferior hanyou. But he could also use a slight rest, before continuing the next day towards their goal, the tiny island where Rin was located. They would liberate his charge before the next full moon, or Inuyasha was going to be very sorry.

XXXXXXXXXX

"I think we're getting close."

Inuyasha glanced behind him where his older brother walked at a slower pace. The normally neutral face showed an almost invisible sheen of sweat, and one eyebrow was faintly pulled down. All in all, he looked miserable, a look that suited him in Inuyashas opinion.

"Yes, hanyou, I have been feeling the distance minimizing between us and the barrier for a long while. You forget that my senses are much sharper than yours will ever be."

Inuyasha frowned. "Yeah, yeah, don't take your frustrations out on me. I'm here to help, but I might change my mind with that attitude."

No answer was forthcoming, and Inuyasha decided not to push his luck and just continued walking. The silence lasted a long time, then he suddenly heard a sound behind him, like a lightning bolt hitting a tree. Turning around, he saw Sesshoumaru had stopped, frowning openly now. Sesshoumaru stretched out a hand in front of him and got slightly electrified by the barrier.

"Wow, that close, huh. Guess you're stuck on the other side now, asshole." Inuyasha grinned at him, while Sesshoumaru sneered at him, showing all his pointy teeth.

"Well, you can stay there for a couple days, while I go get the kid. See ya!" Inuyasha bounded away, smelling out the village with his fading sense of smell. He snuck right up to see the edge of the village. It was filled with priestesses and children. One of the kids, a female, was having a tantrum, Inuyasha could hear her yelling to be let go to her 'Sesshoumaru-sama'. He grinned, the kid had guts.

Instead of marching right in to take the kid and just make like a tree and leave, he made himself comfortable in a tree. It was close to evening after all, and the kids would soon be sent off to bed. He closed his eyes and rested.

XXXXXXXXXX

The moon was absent when a dark-haired human made his way into the quiet little village. The priestess that met him had a quiet conversation, before leading him towards the children's sleeping quarters. Once there, he looked over all the kids carefully, before pointing out a small girl. The priestess frowned and seemed worried at the choice. The human persisted and the little girl was placed in his arms. The human walked out of the village, as quietly as he'd come, with a bundle in his arms, a sleeping little girl.

XXXXXXXXXX

Inuyasha was looking at the girl as the sun rose over the horizon. So this was his brothers little charge. She didn't look any different than most other humans. He felt a small pang of resentment towards the girl. She got more attention from Sesshoumaru than he had ever gotten and ever get, and he was related to the bastard.

It had probably to do with him being a hanyou. But Sesshoumarus hatred toward humans was well known. Inuyasha wondered what this little one had done to make Sesshoumaru care like this.

He stared until Rin stirred and woke. Her eyelids fluttered open and he could actually fucking see the innocence in those big shining eyes. It was something that he couldn't recognize in himself, and he wondered if he had ever been as innocent.

"Where is Rin? Is Sesshoumaru-sama here? You look like Sesshoumaru-sama, are you his servant? Will you take Rin to Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"Whoa, kid, breathe! And ease up on the questions! Sesshoumaru, the bastard, is near here, but there's a barrier that keeps him from getting here. I'm gonna take you back to the bastard. And I'm no servant! Now let's go!"

Inuyasha straightened up and held out his hand. The girl took it trustingly, which was a little silly, he could be anyone, and hadn't Sesshoumaru taught her some basic self-defense? Or at least not to follow anyone that offered her candy? Or in this case Sesshoumaru?

He hoisted the girl up on his hip, since she was too small to keep on his back, she would probably fly off with the first decent wind coming their way. He set off at a quick pace, eager to get away from the place.

It wasn't long before he could see the bastard standing by the barrier, as if knowing just when Inuysha was going to show up. When he saw the girl in his arms, he actually smiled and Inuyasha was taken back at the pain that pulsed through him at the sight.

When he reached the other side of the barrier, he had to put the girl down; she squirmed too much for him to get a good grip.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, I knew you would come and save Rin! Rin is very happy!"

"Yeah, thanks for the credit, kid. Go make Sesshoumaru happy… or at least less grumpy."

Inuyasha stared at his brother and the kid, noticing the tender hand that was laid on the girls head, and the way the hard golden eyes softened the tiniest bit when directed at the small human. He felt a pang inside his chest. The daiyoukai had never looked at him, his own sibling like that, and here he was, giving his attention to a little girl that could keel over any minute.

"Well Sesshoumaru, it's been an adventure. Don't miss me too much when I'm gone!"

With those words, the hanyou set out in the direction of his little village and forest where no one was waiting for him, and a dark, useless well.

"Hanyou, you have this Sesshoumarus gratitude for your help."

Those words must have stung the youkai, but Inuyasha grinned.

"Yeah, I'm awesome. See ya around, or not, asshole!"

He got a growl for that, but nothing more was forthcoming so he continued on his way.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It seemed like an eternity now, the unlikely adventure he'd had with Sesshoumaru. Several weeks had passed since that weird journey. Not that he kept track of the time, there was just noting more exciting happening in his life.

Inuyasha was seated on the edge of the dark well, his eyes cruising the treetops, bored out of his mind. When he came back, he had been met by the cold shoulder. Only Kaede had shown some kind of happiness when he'd popped his head in for a quick hello.

Sometimes, he wondered why he bothered with this. This village didn't need him, or even want him, and he refused to believe Sesshoumarus words about his friends. No matter that the youkais senses were stronger than his and none of his remaining friends never looked twice at him once the battle was over and just disappeared. If the humans in his group didn't like him, he would have noticed ages ago.

His eyes were drawn to the well, as usual. He always ended up here, in the forest or by the well. It seemed fate meant for him to stay here, alone and unwanted by the rest of the world.

The sun was beginning to set when he rose and made his way back to the village. On his way, he decided to go say hi to the old priestess.

He poked in his head while tapping on the wooden wall of the hut. Kaede waved him in without looking up from her task of crushing some kind of hard-shelled beetle.

"What do you want, Inuyasha? It's not often you poke your nose in here anymore."

He sneered, scuffing his feet against the floor.

"I just came to say hi, witch. I thought you might have kicked the bucket, it's been so long since I've seen your mug around."

"I'm getting old, mutt, these old bones of mine haven't the strength to carry me around town that often anymore."

The exchange of friendly insults between the hanyou and the human did nothing to warm the sudden chill in Inuyashas stomach.

The old priestess apparently deemed her beetle to e sufficiently pounded and poured the remains in a bowl, and gesturing for the steaming pot on the fire. Inuyasha grabbed the ladle and filled it with the liquid, tea his nose told him, and filled the cup with the beetle. Kaede nursed the cup in her hands, occasionally taking a sip every now and then.

"Inuyasha, I think you know the townspeople aren't fond of you, and I know you have no lingering feelings of affection for anyone here. I'm the only one here that thinks of you as a friend. The thing is, Inuyasha, my time here is nearly at its end, and I don't want you to remain here with these villagers who want you dead. Your place is not here, you are not supposed to remain here. I'm not sure you should ever have come back once Kagome went back to her time, it's not your destiny. So I implore you Inuyasha, as my friend, to leave this town and find your own place, with people who will cherish you."

Inuyasha stared at Kaede, surprised at her insight. Though he knew this place was not for him, he hadn't been able to bring himself to leave the only place anyone had ever accepted him, first Kikyo, then Kagome and Kaede.

"Old hag, you're one of a kind."

Now Inuyasha did something he never did, and never planned to do again. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against a wrinkled cheek, before he rose to his feet and left.

"It's been nice knowing you! See you around!"

Inuyasha didn't turn around, and thus didn't see the surprised but pleased look Kaede shot him. She knew as well as the hanyou that they would not be seeing each other again. Inuyasha made his way outside the village, never to return. He wouldn't miss the place.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Inuyasha had wandered around for days, not having a purpose, and not knowing of anyone who would welcome him. Miroku and Sango had just started out their life together and he didn't want to be the fifth wheel.

The forest stretched out around him, seemingly endlessly, just like his future. He snorted at the thought. But he knew that however long he roamed the world, he would live long enough to see everything multiple times.

He continued his walking. Even that was boring after going at it for several days alone. Then he smelled something soothing. A hot spring. He grinned. After days of walking and not bathing, he figured his smell alone held youkai at bay for miles. He made a beeline for the spring. After all, his own nose was sensitive enough to the stink of himself.

The spring was steaming when he got there, and it wasn't empty. In the steamy water sat Banteki, the current bane of Inuyashas existence. Inuyasha swore to himself and tried to back of quietly into the forest again.

"My little one, don't hide in the bushes. Come here and enjoy a nice bath instead."

The youkai wasn't even looking at Inuyasha, but Inuyasha knew he was trapped. Like a mouse in a room full of cats. He might not be able to run, but like hell he would get into the spring naked with Banteki.

Inuyasha stood, unsure of his next action, when he felt the air shifting around him. He spun around and stood face to face, or face to chest in this case, with a naked Banteki. The bigger youkai smirked down at the slight flush that appeared on the hanyous cheeks. Banteki didn't miss the quick once-over (right word?) that Inuyashas eyes made before they dragged up to meet the dark eyes.

Inuyasha saw the smile in the dark eyes, and blushed harder. It wasn't the first time he'd seen a naked male, but those had been human, and nowhere near this incredible physique that Banteki displayed. In the back of his mind he wondered if Sesshoumaru looked anything like this.

"I see I must help you into the water."

With those words, the large youkai reached out and ripped the fire-rat robe from the startled hanyou. When he tried to remove Tetsusaiga from Inuyashas hip, the sword let out a zap that had the youkai taking several steps backward. The dark eyes widened comically.

"I'll say, that is a very interesting sword, Inuyasha. Though it doesn't seem to like me."

Inuyasha grinned, feeling thankful that the sword helped him.

"Yeah, this baby is very particular about who it accepts. Not many youkai have come close to Tetsusaiga."

The large youkai sighed, looking disappointed. His reaction told Inuyasha that he hadn't thought of the option that humans had ever touched the sword. It probably didn't even occur to him, since he, like all the other youkai kept himself as far away from humans as possible.

A long silence stretched between the two standing by the spring. Inuyasha felt uncomfortable, he had never been good with silence, the things he blurted out often came back to haunt him. he turned to look for his shirt and never saw it coming.

A big hand suddenly appeared and pulled the hanyou into Bantekis strong chest. A shiver ran through him. He tried to convince himself it was from revulsion. With a spinning motion, the hanyou found himself face to face with Banteki. He was also chest to chest, naked from the waist up. He blushed furiously and struggled to get away. The youkai didn't let go of him, but followed him down when he stumbled over a root and fell with his back to the ground. A grunt escaped him as the full weight of the youkai above him pressed against him.

Then they both heard the sound of a twig breaking, very loud in the silence. Both hanyou and youkai whipped their heads towards the sound. There stood Sesshoumaru, as up-tight and proper as usual. His golden eyes widened as he took in the scene.

Inuyasha wondered how they looked, one completely naked youkai and a half-naked hanyou with aforementioned youkais scent of claim wafting all around. The naked youkai laying on top of the hanyou, legs between Inuyashas. Sesshoumarus eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I see the hanyou has finally found his place, on his back with the youkai scum."

Inuyasha barked out a laugh. Banteki finally moved and let Inuyasha get up from the ground.

"Ha! You think I would get naked like this willingly?"

"The evidence is right in front of my eyes. I would have to be blind to not see the truth."

"Then you're blind as a bat, asshole, 'cause you see nothing! Even when something is right in front of your eyes, you can't see the truth!"

Inuyasha had made his way closer towards his brother, gesticulating wildly. His eyes shot out golden flames. A stray thought ran through Sesshoumarus mind, how beautiful Inuyasha looked like this. He quickly shook the feeling off.

"What truth do you speak about, hanyou? Your assistance was appreciated; however I find I must make a reassessment of you. My esteem (not quite the word I'm looking for…) of you had risen, but now I find you acting like a whore with a barbarian of a youkai. Tell me what I am misunderstanding?"

"You jackass! Can't you see I don't care about him!"

Banteki, who lay on his side with his head supported on an arm, still naked, made a hurt sound. Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru both ignored him.

"Then, pray tell, who holds the affection of the great hanyou Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha went cold with anger.

"You have no right. Absolutely no right, to just barge in here and start making assumptions and demanding answers. You might have had a chance, a long time ago, but you cared nothing for me back then, and you obviously still don't give a shit about me, so you can just go to hell, you bastard. It's were you belong."

Inuyasha had delivered the speech in a calm, ice-cold voice. Sesshoumarus eyes hadn't left his and they remained as cold as they always when they gazed at his half brother. They didn't thaw a bit and Inuyasha suddenly couldn't take anymore. He had to get away, from both youkai.

"Stupid me, thinking something had changed. Well I don't care anymore, I'm out of here. Good luck on the mate hunt Banteki. With any luck, I won't be seeing you ever again. Either one of you."

With those words, the hanyou plucked his shirt from ground, slipped it on and walked into the forest. Both youkai watched him go.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'm planning to start writing the next one today, or soon anyway. See ya!


	4. Chapter 4

Hi all! I know it's been a long wait. My only excuse is that RL has been making me very busy since the last chapter was updated. I hope this will make up for the long wait. For those wondering, I know that I've not given a very detailed description of Banteki. I've left it vague deliberately, allowing you to make up your own picture of the youkai. This is un-betaed, my betas mail isn't working for me! Enjoy!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

'The nerve, the fucking nerve of those youkai!' Inuyasha knew exactly what his place in the world was, he'd just forgotten until his dear big brother had reminded him.

His angry stomp through the forest had taken him to unexplored grounds. The sun was still standing high in the sky, though he felt nothing of its warmth. His insides seemed frozen, and he was sure they would remain that way a long time.

His steps shortened until he stopped beside a large tree. Though his facial expression didn't change, the ears on top of his head drooped tellingly, signaling the emotions he'd rather keep hidden from the world around him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Why must you always anger me? You made Inuyasha run away." Sesshoumaru stood proud in front of the buck naked dark youkai in front of him. The warm steam didn't seem to affect him at all, not even a drop of sweat was visible.

"Me? You're the one that barged in here, interrupting us just as it was getting interesting." Banteki pouted, not at all concerned that Sesshoumaru glowered at him.

Banteki made his way back into the hot spring, intent on finishing his bath. This was, after all, his first bath in a long time, and even he could feel the stink on his body. He was interrupted by a pale strong arm that slammed him into a tree.

"What have you done to the hanyou?"

One dark eyebrow climbed towards Bantekis hairline.

"Noting that you haven't done yourself, I believe." The hand pressing his chest into the tree didn't let up the pressure, Sesshoumarus expression became thunderous.

"Banteki, if I find you've laid a hand on him, your life will be forfeit."

"Why Sesshy, how positively possessive of you. It almost sounds like you're interested in the poor whelp yourself." A smirk appeared on the handsome face when Sesshoumaru remained silent. "So you are interested in him. Ha! Just imagine, the great youkai Lord of the Western Lands, infatuated with a simple hanyou. Oh the other lords are going to have a field day with this."

The pale youkai let go of Banteki and threw a punch in his face before he disappeared in the forest, in the direction of his little brother. Banteki lay still where he'd fallen, a smirk still playing on his face.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Inuyasha had made camp in the middle of the forest, right where he stood. Although calling it a camp was probably an exaggeration. He had just plopped himself down on the ground. He didn't need anything else, he was a hanyou damnit! He didn't need a fire, or food. he was warm enough and he could go for days without feeling hunger.

His stomach growled its disapprovement at him. He glared back at it.

"Are you gonna cause problem too? Why can't I catch a break? Just a small one, a day or so, would be nice." A day where he wouldn't need to worry about everyone hating him, being shunned from every society and turning human. Where he could just be himself which was ok. Was that too much to ask? Apparently it was, since it wasn't likely to ever happen.

Inuyasha could feel his eyes prickle uncomfortably. He blinked angrily, keeping the tears at bay. He was strong damnit! And his mother had always told him that boys don't cry. So he wouldn't, he would make his mother proud, if it was the last thing he'd ever do. He wouldn't want his mother to end up crying in heaven after all.

He looked up at the sky, where the sun was beginning its way down towards the ground. This area was unknown to him, he hoped the night-time youkai would let him be, he could do with a good nights sleep.

Inuyasha sat there and stared at the sky until well after sundown. He managed to clear his mind of thoughts while the stars twinkled dully down at him.

"I never took you for a depressed whelp, Inuyasha." Suddenly, his view of the night sky was blocked by his half-brother. Sesshoumaru stared down at him, face completely passive.

"I thought I told you I never wanted to see you again, asshole. Now leave me alone." Inuyasha moved his gaze to a bit of uncovered sky besides his brother. His voice remained quiet and non-aggressive. Sesshoumaru thought he looked and sounded like an abandoned pup.

Then it hit him. Inuyasha was no older than a pup in youkai society. He was hardly old enough to travel by himself, yet he had traveled all over with a pack. A pack where he was the responsible leader. There was strength in his little brother. But it seemed like that strength had run out. A lifetime of that spirit being put down had taken its toll on Inuyasha, he had no strength over to live his own life anymore.

Sesshoumaru wavered. He could leave his little brother here, and never see him again. Inuyasha would surely meet his fate if he travelled while this mood hung over him. But what good would that do? Sesshoumaru would not gain any favors nor gratitude from Inuyasha

While he stood, thinking over his options, he looked down at his brother, the broken spirit of the little pup in front of him and realized there was no decision to make.

"Come Inuyasha. I will not let you sit here and rot. Come. Rin is waiting, and she has expressed her desire to meet you again, although it is a desire I do not understand." The youkai turned without another look on Inuyasha and started walking away.

He hadn't walked far before he stopped and turned around, noticing Inuyasha sitting in the same spot as earlier. The only change in posture was his head. It had turned to track Sesshoumaru, the large eyes wide and surprised. It was the first time Sesshoumaru had seen his brother with that expression on his face. It made him look even younger than he really was. Sesshoumaru decided he didn't like it.

"Come, Inuyasha, or would you prefer to live your life like a worthless dog before someone takes pity on you and ends your life?"

Though the words didn't seem to inflame any of the feelings of anger Sesshoumaru was used to from his brother, the expression disappeared from his face, and the hanyou slowly stood from his position on the ground, walking towards his waiting brother.

"Move, asshole, I'm leading the way this time." Inuyasha shoved past the youkai. He didn't see his brothers small, almost unnoticeable smile that was wiped away in less than a second.

"Hanyou, you shoud know your place always is behind me."

"Oh, so you take it from behind? You dog, I didn't need, or want, to know that. I'm gonna have nightmares for days now."

Sesshoumaru growled, already feeling a migraine coming on, and almost starting to regret his decision. Only almost though.

As they started walking Inuyasha looked up at the sky again. The stars shone brighter than he'd ever seen them before.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They walked through the night in total silence, only the leaves and grass making soft noise under their feet. Sesshoumaru would have thought this would be a pleasant diversion from the constant noise his companion usually caused, but to his disappointment he found the silence to be oppressive and unwelcome. He hated to admit it but he missed Inuyashas pointless chatter. That alone proved to him that his little brother was his usual self.

The sun was just beginning to rise when Sesshoumaru took the lead. Inuyasha allowed it mostly because he hadn't a clue where they were. The youkai lead them out of the dense forest and out into a vast field. There was some kind of crops growing, there were sprouts shooting up from the ground everywhere.

They walked alongside the field for a long time before coming across a small village. There was something unusual about this village, but Inuyasha couldn't place it. Then he saw a person coming out of one of the buildings. As they got closer, it suddenly clicked. It was a youkai! This was a town for youkai.

"Close your mouth Inuyasha, or the flies will find a new home." He sounded like a smug, know-it-all older brother. For just a moment, Inuyasha felt like they were just two brothers on a walk, teasing and bantering all the way.

"Sesshoumaru-sama! Welcome home to the western lands. We have taken good care of your little charge." The youkai, Inuyashas nose told him it was a female, smiled at her Lord, before turning to him. The smile turned into a sneer.

"What is that thing doing here? It should know its kind is not welcome in any villages." Inuyasha felt his insides run cold. 'Thing'? 'It'? Was he worth nothing more than to be labeled a thing?

Of course. He'd forgotten, again, that he was something that no one would want, a hybrid that was best to be rid of. The only one who had ever really cared for the real him had been his mother. Kikyou and Kagome had only seen the sides of him that they chose to see. Kikyou saw the side of him that wanted to fit in, to have some kind of unity to someone. Kagome got to see the side of him that had given up on ever having someone wanting to be near him.

That left his brother, only he didn't care about Inuyasha, he hated his guts and wanted to kill him, or use him for something before he killed him.

Inuyashas gaze had dropped to the ground, so he didn't see the glare Sesshoumaru shot at the female. She was properly cowed although she didn't understand the reason. Sesshoumaru-sama hated hanyou, it was a common fact amongst youkai.

"Yukiko, I will not allow you to spout such foolish things to this Sesshoumarus younger brother. If you persist, I will have you moved to the south border."

'Where you will be busy dodging attacks most of the time', were left unsaid, but Yukiko stood straighter and schooled her features into a neutral expression. Inuyashas gaze shot up to his older brother, wide and suspiciously wet.

"Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama, forgive me. I will return with your charge momentarily." She left and disappeared into one of the huts lined further down the road.

"Do not get any ideas, Inuyasha. Though I may not allow those of lower social status to call you degrading names, this Sesshoumaru has no intention of ceasing." Sesshoumaru smirked as the eyes got even wider before narrowing at him.

"Yeah, whatever you say asshole. Not like I'm not used to it anyway." But he sounded quite pleased, if Sesshoumaru may say so himself. The thought immediately bothered him. Why was he pleased at anything Inuyasha said or did? Why did he even feel anything other than irritation and resentment at the thought of his younger brother?

Those questions would have to wait, as Rin came barreling out of the hut, running as fast as her little legs would carry her.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" The youkai was greeted with an enthusiastic hug around his thighs, as Rin didn't reach any higher than that, with a grip that could have choked a lesser animal, Inuyasha was sure.

"I have returned Rin, as I promised." An affectionate pat on the head was more warmth shown than Inuyasha had known his brother capable of.

"And Inuyasha-san is here too!" The little girl stood before him with her arms raised above her head. Inuyasha had seen the same behavior in Kaedes village and the mothers had always lifted their children.

"What, you wanna be carried? Your legs stop working on the way over?" He noticed Sesshoumarus scowl, but ignored it. The little kid wasn't going to remain little forever. The sooner she learned to take care of herself, the better. She wasn't going to have her 'Sesshoumaru-sama' to protect her all her life.

She remained standing there with her arms over her head, slowly starting to shake from the blood flowing the wrong way. When it became apparent that she wouldn't give up, he gave in and lifted her into the air. She squealed delightedly and wrapped her arms around his neck and held on.

"You a leech now? Let up or I won't be able to breathe." The arms didn't loosen in the slightest, but the little girl giggled and pressed a wet kiss against his cheek. He was so surprised he blushed. Honest to fucking God blushed.

He glanced at Sesshoumaru and got the feeling he was laughing at him, behind his cool facade. It only made him blush harder, and he could feel the redness spread downward toward his chest.

Inuyasha had always felt awkward around kids, never knowing how to act or what to say. He'd never had the normal childhood that other children had. He'd never had any friends or ever played with other kids, so he didn't know anything about what kids did every day.

"Sesshoumaru-sama told Rin that Rin was rude to Inuyasha-san since Rin didn´t say 'thank you' when Inuyasha-san helped me."

The little girl scrambled to get down from the hanyou. When he put her down, se bowed formally to him.

"Rin thanks Inuysha-san for helping me escape from the mean people and that Inuyasha-san took Rin back to Sesshoumaru-sama."

She held the bow a few seconds longer before straitening and smiled brilliantly at Inuyasha. The intensity made Inuyasha back up half a step.

"You're gonna give a lucky boy a toothache in the future, you're way too sweet for your own safety, kid."

If he sounded a little choked, none of his companions mentioned it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They were on the road again. This time, the brothers were accompanied by the little girl, which lightened the atmosphere considerably. Wherever they went, she chattered on about the surroundings ("Yeah, it's green."), how awesome her Sesshoumaru-sama was ("There must be something seriously wrong with your head, kid, who threw that pinecone at me?") and why Inuyasha-san didn't have a tail when he had such cute ears ("They're not cute, they're cool and very useful, and don't you dare laugh at me you jerk!").

When the small group stopped to make camp late in the evening, Inuyasha had to admit to himself that Sesshoumaru deserved a smidge of grudging respect for having the stamina to deal with the little monster of a girl. She didn't shut up, ever. His brain hurt from the excessive talking.

With the fire casting creepy shadows all over the place, the little girl had chosen to sleep in Inuyashas lap, without his permission he might add. One glance from Sesshoumaru halted his thoughts about shoving her off him. It was like the bastard could read his mind. He'd probably dealt with these situations before and didn't want Inuyasha to escape it this time.

"How do you deal with her every day? I'm already wiped." Inuyasha kept his voice down, aware that his brother would hear him thanks to his youkai blood. Sesshoumaru sneered.

"It's not a hard technique to master, even you should be able to do it." Inuyasha waited, but there was no more forthcoming from the youkai.

"Well, tell me. You can't just stop there and expect me to not be curious." He shifted a little, his legs were falling asleep under the weight of the little girl.

"You should be able to figure it out itself. I will not serve you knowledge like a library. You will have to work for your abilities." The sneer had grown, and Inuyasha could smell the irritation coming from his brother. He couldn't figure out why though.

"What crawled up your shorts? I haven't done anything irritating today, you made sure I'd be too busy with this." He gestured towards the girl in his lap.

No answer was forthcoming, big surprise there. The youkai just turned his back to his brother and settled down for the night. Inuyasha frowned.

"Yeah, goodnight to you too asshole." The back turned towards him stiffened, but when the youkai actually turned around to address his brother, Inuyasha had closed his eyes and drifted off.

"You have no idea what you are dealing with, little brother." Sesshoumaru spent the rest of the night contemplating his brother and keeping a lookout.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next morning, Inuyasha was awakened by something attacking him at the ass-crack of dawn. Eyes snapping open, hand on his sword, he expected nothing less than a youkai wanting to slay his ass.

What met his sight was a bubbly, hyperactive little girl with a smile that outshone the sun.

"Inuyasha-san, you're awake! Rin can't believe Inuyasha-san wakes up the same time as Rin!" Inuyasha grimaced.

"Not so much wakes up as getting woken up! Brat, let me sleep. There's still a lot of time before it's time to leave." Inuyasha let go of his sword and prepared to burrow back into himself and get some more sleep, but the little girl from hell was having none of that.

"Inuyasha-san is the first one that has waken up with Rin! Sesshoumaru-sama just sleeps and Jaken-san is too scary in the morning…"

Inuyasha sighed, loudly. It was no use to keep trying to sleep if Rin wasn't going to keep her mouth zipped.

"It's 'woken' up Rin. Learn tp speak correctly before you say anything important to someone, ok? Otherwise, your precious Sesshoumaru-sama is going to find himself in some deep sh…"

"Finish that sentence, hanyou, and you shall find yourself incapable of talking in the future."

"Sesshoumaru-sama! Sesshoumaru-sama's awake! Inuyasha-san is amazing, you woken Sesshoumaru-sama!"

"The word is 'woke', Rin, not woken." Sesshoumaru stretched where he sat. Inuyasha knew as well as him that the youkai hadn't been asleep. He'd been on the lookout that night, and Inuyasha suspected he might simply pretend to be asleep to make his ward leave him alone until he chose to face her and the day. Everything had to happen on Sesshoumarus terms after all.

"Well, I guess it's time for me to beat it." The hanyou rose from his position and stretched, sighing happily at the many pops his body generated.

He was almost knocked on his ass before he was done. Looking down on the brick in the form of a little girl, he saw nothing but a lot of hair.

"What's wrong now? Sesshoumaru's right here, you're gonna find the green thing that comes with the bastard. No need for me."

The head shook from side to side firmly. "Rin thinks there is a bid need for Inuyasha-san. Inuyasha-san is amazing and could wake Sesshoumaru-sama and Inuyasha-san also helped me from the icky village. Inuyasha must stay with Sesshoumaru-sama and Rin."

Inuyasha didn't know what to say to that, and looked toward his brother for some help, only to find the golden eyes shuttered and cold as ice. No help there. He sighed.

"Rin, I have things I have to do, responsibilities elsewhere. You have Sesshoumaru, you don't need me anymore." It was a big fat lie of course, but the little girl didn't need to know that. The first thing he'd likely do when he was on his own again was to travel and keep away from people. The story of his life.

"Like what? Tell Rin!" the girl sure was demanding for her age. Must come from spending so much time with his asshole brother.

"You know I have my village, Rin." There was no love lost between him and the villagers, only Kaede might have missed him. The dry well was there of course, but it didn't work anymore, since Kagome had gone home that last time.

"No, they don't need you! Rin needs you! Inuyasha-san must stay here."

"My friends might need help." Even he didn't believe that. Sango and Miroku had left at the first opportunity together with Shippo and never looked back. Just a hasty goodbye to their hanyou friend before they dissapeared.

He didn't believe his brothers statement a bit, but he had a suspicion that his friends weren't completely honest about their opinions about him either. He'd never know now though, he'd probably never see them again.

"No, they can take care of themselves without Inuyasha-san!" The kid didn't realize how the truth hurt the hanyou, couldn't feel it. The youkai on the other hand could smell the pain oozing from his brother.

"Rin, enough. Inuyasha, you can choose to come with me and be the caretaker for Rin, or you can choose to go your own way, alone."

Inuyasha met the golden eyes, so like his own, square on. In them, he saw no emotion whatsoever, but he sensed something that made his resolution waver. Go with the brother who hated him and take care of the runt of his, or face the whole world alone, again, with no protection or someone to even care.

In hind sight the choice was already made. Though getting the answer out of him was like pulling teeth. It went slow and hurt like hell.

"Fine, I'll go with you. Bet you would miss me if I didn't, as… stupid." Since the kid was present, he figured it was bad form to teach her words his mother would have pinched his ear painfully for using. At least while the bastard was listening.

Rin smiled broadly, and even Sesshoumaru relaxed slightly. His choice made, Inuyasha sat down again, not really surprised when the little girl plopped down next to him, close enough to bump into him.

"Relax, kid, I said I'm staying, I wouldn't leave once I've promised something."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

After a breakfast considering of a freshly caught hare shared hurriedly between the brothers while Rin had gone to use the toilet, the trio had set out. It was now nearing noon, and the little girl had yet to shut her mouth even once.

"Rin, couldn't you stop talking for a moment? My ears hurt." He was too tired to be polite, and his ears really was hurting from the constant noise.

"OK, Inuyasha-san! Rin will be so quiet that even Sesshoumaru-sama can't hear Rin."

Blessed silence. Inuyashas ears rejoiced. For all of five minutes.

"Look! Pretty flowers! Can we stay a bit, Sesshoumaru-sama? Rin wants to pluck some flowers." She continued talking about how pretty the flowers were and how pretty they would be in Sesshomaru-samas and Inuyasha-sans hair. Inuyasha managed to tune her out and stopped when Sesshoumaru did. He sat down on a rock and just breathed, soaking in the warmth of the sun beating down from a clear sky.

As he sat there, he could feel someone staring at him. Turning quickly, he saw no one. Sesshoumaru had sat down in the grass next to his charge.

"Hey, I need to go to the can, I'll be back soon. Don't leave without me!" Not waiting for an answer he walked quickly into the group of tress not far from the resting spot.

He had barely made it out of sight from his companions when he found himself shoved against a tree by a wiry arm pressed against his throat.

"Well, look at what the youkai brought me." Banteki grinned. "It's been so long since I last saw you Inuyasha. I was beginning to think you didn't like me anymore."

The hanyou growled, albeit weakly, at the dark youkai. Bantekis normally handsome face was twisted and there were dark circles under his dark blue eyes.

Inuyasha struggled as much as possible while losing oxygen. The arm didn't let up one bit, instead it tightened, making the descent into darkness more rapid.

"Sesshoumaru doesn't realize what a treasure you are, hanyou. I will make you mine, you'll see." The dark youkai smiled manically.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I hope you enjoyed this, and that it made up somewhat for the long wait. I'll try, as always, to be quicker about updating, but RL is still making me quite busy for now. My motivation has been dwindling a bit, so please R&R, it keeps my motivation up to finish this story. Ideas and tips are always welcome!


	5. Chapter 5

Hi! Sorry for the long wait. Hope you enjoy.

.oOo.

Inuyasha was stuck. His vision was spotty, darkness was creeping in, and somewhere deep in his mind, his brain recognized the predator in front of him and tried to make him submit.

The hanyou, though, had not survived this long by listening to his stupid brain. So he continued his fruitless struggles.

The dark youkai snickered. "You should know when to give up, Inuyasha. I am far superior to you, in every way."

Inuyasha closed his eyes, mostly to get away from the dark leer in front of him. The golden eyes shot open as he felt something warm and moist drag across his cheek. He caught the bastard pulling his tongue back into his mouth, licking his lips thoroughly.

"Delicious." Banteki grinned hugely at his prey, before bending closer. Inuyasha tried to move his head further back, in vain.

"You will be mine, hanyou. The more you struggle, the more I will enjoy it." The warm breath caressed the hanyous ear, making him shiver in disgust. A growl followed as a warm tongue snaked around the appendage.

The dark youkai pulled back and grabbed a handful of silver hair in his free hand. The hand pulled back harshly, making Inuyasha fear his hair was being pulled out with the roots. Banteki leaned down and captured the hanyous lips in a hard, bruising kiss.

.oOo.

Sesshoumaru was growing tired of waiting for the hanyou. Surely Inuyasha did not need this much time simply to relieve himself. Rin had almost picked the grass bare of wildflowers and was running out of space to store her creations.

He turned towards where his younger brother had disappeared through the trees. He sniffed delicately in the air and growled, growing displeased. Instead of feeling the expected smell of urine, he picked up the slightly sour scent of repressed fear. He also picked up the familiar smell of his hated acquaintance.

Before he knew what he was doing, his feet were caring him towards the origin of the scents. As he spotted the two, his anger suddenly overpowered him.

.oOo.

Before Inuyasha could wrap his head around it, the youkai holding and forcing his tongue into Inuyashas mouth was gone. He gasped for breath, fighting against nausea. His sight was slowly returning to normal as he gulped down fresh air into his lungs.

Curious to see what had happened to his violator, Inuyasha turned towards the sounds streaming across the forest.

There stood Sesshoumaru, silver hair flying around him, surrounded by the smell of youki and holding Banteki by the throat, making the dark youkai dangle from the air like a ragdoll. Poison dripped from his claws, leaking onto the fine silk of Bantekis shoulder, burning through to the skin.

Banteki hissed at the sensation, his cobalt eyes changing to a bright white. Before Inuyashas eyes, the dark youkai started shifting into his animal form. Sesshoumaru let go of the other and stepped back, giving Banteki some space.

"How pathetic, changing from a little poison." When the dark youkai had stopped morphing, there stood a gigantic, black cat. Banteki stared down at the tiny youkai and hanyou, a loud growl sounding in his chest.

He lifted a paw, ready to slice his rival into tiny, miniscule pieces. As the paw swung down, Seshoumaru stepped aside and countered with a lightning fast poison filled strike against the soft underside of the paw.

The big cat hissed and drew the injured paw towards his chest. Sesshoumaru didn't let the dark youkai rest. Leaping onto the back of Banteki, he landed gracefully in a silver flourish on the broad back. He fisted a great deal of the dark fur at the back of the neck and pulled harshly, bringing the large head back at an awkward angle.

The white youkai spoke quickly into an ear pointed towards him. He spoke quietly enough that Inuyasha didn't hear the words, in spite of his sensitive hearing. When the large cat seemed to freeze and the scent of sharp fear coupled with rage, the hanyou knew his brother was serious.

The inuyoukai sailed gracefully back to the ground next to Inuyasha. In front of them the cat was morphing back to his more human appearance. The blue eyes were dark and the hands were constantly twitching at his sides. His eyes slid toward Inuyasha, but a low growl made them focus on the other youkai instead.

"Don't think you've won, dog. This battle might be yours, but I swear the war will be won by me. As you haven't yet claimed the hanyou for yourself it's fair game for anyone." His words were met by an even deeper and more scary sounding growl from Sesshoumaru.

Banteki turned toward Inuyasha. "Don't think I've forgotten about you, little hanyou. I will be back for my price shortly." With those words, the dark youkai vanished into the shadows.

Sesshoumaru relaxed minutely as the smell of youki faded to tolerable levels. Then he turned tail and retraced his way back towards the clearing.

"Wait, what?! You're just gonna ignore this? What the hell was that? I don't need protection! I can handle my own battles!"

The youkai lord didn't even turn his head. "Judging from what transpired here, you do indeed need someone to hinder you from joining our parents."

Ouch. No matter what anyone believed about Inuyasha, his mother was still a slightly sore subject.

When Inuyasha didn't reply, the older brother looked back. The expression on Inuyashas face was somewhere between rage and despair. He sighed.

"Inuyasha, while my hatred of humans is widely known, something can be said about your mother. Not many humans, and even fewer females, can handle a youkai. Add to that a hanyou child to be brought up without their youkai parent, your mother had her share of hardships."

His statement left Inuyasha speechless. It almost sounded like… but no, impossible.

"Sessoumaru, are you trying to say you respect my mother?" The youkai stiffened.

"What foolishness are you spouting, hanyou? You never cease to amaze this Sesshoumaru."

Inuyasha grinned, showing all his teeth. "I notice you don't refuse my claim of respecting a human. It's ok, bastard, you're not the first youkai to be dazzled by the humans. Take our old man, falling for a human even though he already had a youkai mate waiting for him."

The growl was anticipated and welcome. Just like that, they were ok. Inuyasha figured he could let todays incident slide, talking about it could wait.

Back at the make-shift camp Rin had picked all the flowers she had found. When Inuyasha planted himself down next to her he suddenly felt a weight on his head and ears, making them twitch irritably.

Reaching up a hand he felt something soft. At the same time he caught the scent of flowers drifting down from the thing on his head.

Flowers. She had put stinking flowers on his head. The smell was going to be stuck in his hair for days unless he found a river to rinse it off.

"Damn it kid, this shit ain't coming out of my hair in forever. Why don't you put this thing on Sesshoumaru?"

Rin smiled. "I tried once, but Sesshoumaru-sama just made them wilt. Sesshoumaru-sama then said I should put flowers on Jaken-samas head. So Rin put lots and lots of flowers on Jaken-sama. He got weird like he was sick with big green things on his skin."

Inuyasha smiled when he imagined Sesshoumaru using his poison to wilt flowers, and a Jaken covered in a rainbow of differently colored flowers. The image that made him chuckle was that of Jaken sniffling and covered in rashes.

When he looked over at Sesshoumaru he saw one corner of his mouth was slightly crooked, like he was smiling and trying very hard to not let it show. It broke the camels back. Inuyasha laughed so hard he had trouble sitting upright.

"Oh, by the way asshole. I figured out that 'secret technique' of yours for dealing with this runt."

The youkai lord turned his eyes towards his little brother, raising an eyebrow. "Do enlighten me, Inuyasha."

He let out a large, shit-eating grin. "You let her ramble the head of the green imp, don't you? Then you talk with her when she hasn't the energy to ramble any longer. Right?"

The other eyebrow raised to match the elevated one. "I am impressed, hanyou. It did not take you quite as long to figure it out as I had anticipated. How do you plan to use this information?"

Inuyasha frowned, not having thought about it before the question. The grin reappeared. "We're going to get the imp. No question about it."

.oOo.

"You know, when I decided that we were going after the green thing, I kinda expected you to volunteer some information about where he could be, not just tag along for the trip."

After three days of wandering, the group had not made any headway at all. Inuyasha was frustrated as hell and tired of constantly travelling.

Sesshoumaru was amused about the whole thing, not forthcoming at all about the whereabouts of his small vassal. The only thing he'd contributed was the direction, east.

Rin was, as always, happy and spent the days chattering away and picking flowers that she was constantly trying to sneak into Inuyashas hair when she thought he wasn't paying attention. She had yet to succeed once more.

"Hanyou, I have already told you that Jaken is located to the east. You will find out when we find him."

"I hate you. I hate you so much right now." Inuyasha grumbled.

The youkai was almost visibly amused. "I did not know there were moments that you did not hate me, Inuyasha. I shall keep this information secret from the rest of the world."

It made Inuyasha mutter darkly to himself, Sesshoumaru could discern different ways to kill, maim and dismember his youkai self from the ramblings.

Thankfully, Rin wasn't paying attention, too wrapped up in her one-sided conversation about how much she was going to play with her Jaken-sama when they found him.

The sun was beating down on them, just as it had been doing the days before, showing them no mercy. Rin appeared to be fine, as well as Sesshoumaru. The bastard was probably never affected by the weather.

Inuyasha was feeling the heat though, all too much. Something was not right with him. He could feel it but he couldn't pinpoint what it was exactly.

By noon, when there was absolutely no reprieve from the heat, the hanyou was panting lightly. The sound was soft enough not to be heard by the youkai, thankfully.

He was hit by a dizzy spell so suddenly he stumbled and almost fell, just catching himself before hitting the ground with his face. He managed to right himself and glanced back to see both of the other members of the group staring at him, one with concern and one with no expression except a lifted eyebrow.

Blushing, the hanyou faced forward and took a step forward. Or it was supposed to take him forward. The leg crumbled under him, and he kind of sat down where he stood.

"Yeah, apparently I'm not supposed to go any further today." He managed a small smile, battling a bout of nausea. "We're gonna have to make camp here today, I'm not feeling topnotch right now."

Rin was suddenly right in his face. "Inuyasha-san, are you alright? What hurts?"

Inuyasha squinted at her. "Kid, stop spinning around, it's making me dizzy."

Rin frowned. "I'm not spinning, Inuyasha-san, I'm sitting still." She reached her hand forward to feel the hanyous forehead. "Sesshoumaru-sama, Inuyasha-sans forehead is very warm. Like fire. Do you think we can cook breakfast on his head?"

Sesshoumaru smirked slightly. "Any food we cook on the hanyou will taste vile, Rin. I do not encourage you to try."

Inuyasha had just opened his mouth to deliver a witty retort, but at the same moment he was struck by a muscle spasm. All that came out of his mouth was a strangled yelp which he managed to cut of halfway.

Looking back at the youkai, Inuyasha could see a strange light enter the golden eyes. For a crazy moment he thought it might be something akin to worry, but that idea was too foreign to root inside his brain.

Then there was heat and sweat and no more thought process available for a long time. He was vaguely aware of Rins worried face in front of him and lifted a hand to reassure her. Or he would have lifted his hand, but it seemed to have gotten so heavy it wasn't possible.

He became acutely aware of his skin being on fire. The clothes on his body served only to make his body hotter and cause an itch everywhere it touched him. Rin was suddenly gone and instead he was suddenly swimming in a sea of silver.

The heat was suddenly too much for him and he tried to rip the clothes of his body. His fingers didn't want to cooperate though and he just managed to tangle himself further into the fabric of his robes.

Then calm, blessedly cool hands were upon his own, making them still in their quest. He heard a voice, strangely familiar to him though he couldn't make out what the voice was saying. It didn't matter to him, just as long as those hands kept trailing over his.

Suddenly he felt like he was floating, and the wind was picking up around him, chilling his body slightly. It seemed like just a few seconds had passed before the wind stilled again, to his dismay.

He didn't have much time to be unhappy about it though, as the cold hands returned to help him get the itchy robes of his body and then he was surrounded by something chilly. His body felt lighter than usual, his limbs floating around him leisurely.

He felt the hands feeling his face, lingering at his forehead, before trailing up towards his ears. The light touch made it twitch irritably. It managed to keep the water out of his sensitive ear canals though.

He had no idea how long he was submerged in the lovely coolness, but eventually he could feel his senses slowly return. As his eyes slowly opened, he saw absolutely nothing, making him panic before his internal clock reminded him that it was night. At the same time he could make out stars shining above him.

His mind was returning, registering more things than simply hot and cold. He could feel the water around him and realized he had been lowered into a lake somewhere in the woods. The last thing he saw before his mind spiraled back into darkness was a pair of golden eyes searching his eyes for something.

.oOo.

It was light outside when Inuyasha finally opened his eyes again. Althouh quite shakily, he managed to raise himself to a sitting position, resisting the urge to quietly go back to sleep. His vision was swimming, making him nauseous.

"I see you have returned to the land of living, little brother. This Sesshoumaru is gratified, I would have loathed having to use Tenseiga to revive you, just to kill you. It is far more convenient for you to live so I can off you like I have planned."

Swinging his head around, albeit slowly, the hanyou wasn't as surprised as he should be to find Sesshoumaru walking towards him, holding a limp rabbit in one hand. Despite feeling nauseous his stomach growled, reminding him that he hadn't eaten in too long. He licked his lips hungrily.

"I am surprised you are hungry, my experience with illness is the absence of hunger."

Inuyasha was not really registering the words, just hearing the voice droning close to him. His eyes were fixated on the hare, feeling his instincts take over. He growled at Sesshoumaru, baring his fangs and flattening his ears to his skull.

An eyebrow rose slightly on the icy lord. "Perhaps my assessment of illness is too connected with humans. Eat your fill, Inuyasha."

Sesshoumaru tossed the rabbit at his little brother, watching intently as the hanyou ripped it apart and devoured it, hardly chewing it.

Hunger sated, Inuyasha threw the bones down, clean from meat, at the ground. He looked up expectantly at the one who provided him with the food, waiting for more. Sesshoumaru simply stared back until the hanyou folded in front of him, backing away.

Thinking it the first time the hanyou had ever shown submissiveness in front of him, he turned away, surprised from the scene and trying not to show it. This made him miss the calculating look Inuyasha gave him.

He did not go unaware of the hanyou landing square on his back though. Managing to keep his balance he did not fall down, though it was a near thing with the swaying caused by the constantly moving weight on his person.

Sesshoumaru could not scent any maliciousness in his brothers youki, however he could detect a large bout of playfulness. This illness seemed to strip away Inuyashas personality and left only instinct to guide his actions.

Inuyasha was now growling playfully and nipping on the white kimono as well as the long hair. Sesshoumaru decided to leave it unless the nipping spread to his skin. There was no danger in the hanyou hurting him or ripping his kimono, however it was fast becoming annoying.

The hanyou tired before long, letting go of Sesshoumaru and sank down to the ground. The youkai heaved a sigh and folded himself gracefully into a sitting position. He'd barely seated himself before he found himself with a lapful of hanyou, pushing his nose into his face and neck.

A strong, firm hand pushed Inuyasha as far away from him as possible without picking him up and throwing him away. The hanyou ended up a fair distance away, looking quizzically at his brother.

His body language was very clear. Together with his youki his whole presence screamed 'don' t come near me'. Apparently the hanyou was oblivious to this or simply didn't care, for he came bounding back and placed his body directly on the lap of Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru tensed, preparing himself for a more forceful removal of the light body invading his personal space, but instead of bothering him, the hanyou stretched out his body, yawning heavily before settling down and simply fell asleep.

The youkai lord let out a breath and relaxed slightly, resigning himself to spending the rest of the day as the personal pillow of his sick little brother.

.oOo.

The first sensation he became aware of was a pounding headache. It felt like his brain was trying to hack its way out of his skull. With a pair of very dull spoons. The second thing he noticed was a soft sensation under his cheek, was more comfortable than the usual grass or stone he was used to.

Inuyasha opened his eyes slowly, squinting against the strong sunlight piercing his eyes. The sight that met him had him leaping from his place. He landed in a heap a good way away from his glaring older brother.

"Oh shit, what the hell happened to me?!" Inuyasha could feel his heart pounding wildly inside his chest and cold sweat began to slowly gather at the small of his back.

"Little brother, it seems you are in full possession of your instincts once again. You are no doubt grateful to be informed that this Sesshoumaru cared for you through the night while you raged in full delirium."

The color drained steadily from Inuyashas face as he listened. What had he done? What actions had he performed in front of the bastard? What humiliation would he be forced to live through from here on out?

Sesshoumaru noticed the pale face of his brother and frowned. "Are you quite sure you are recovered Inuyasha? I have no desire to relive the events of yesterday."

"I'm recovered asshole. I just wonder what the hell got me under in the first place." The hanyou started pacing as he thought. Sesshoumaru traced his eyes along the figure until Inuyasha stopped abruptly and turned towards him.

"You! I must've caught something from you. I've been just peachy all my life, until you came along with your weird youkai germs!"

Sesshoumaru did his baffled look, which for him was a raised eyebrow. "Youkai do not carry these 'germs' you talk about. You must have consumed something inappropriate."

Inuyasha sputtered. "Don't try that card, mister. I practically raised myself, I know perfectly well what's safe to eat and what to stay the hell away from."

"The only thing this Sesshoumaru possesses that could trigger the disease you suffered is youki. However, you would have shown a reaction much sooner. We have been in close approximation for too long for it to be my youki."

The youkai lord watched as Inuyasha suddenly went blank and sank down to the ground. "Banteki. It must have been Banteki."

Seshoumaru nodded. "I believe it to be so. Though you have not had a reaction to his youki before, I believe his youki became too concentrated at the time the claiming mark was placed upon you."

"I'm gonna kill him. The bastard won't live to see another day after I'm done with him."

Inuyasha continued to rant for a while, leaving the youkai to his own thoughts. Although unusual, a bad reaction to different youki was not unheard of. In this case, it merely proved the compability between Inuyasha and Banteki was nonexistent. That made the claiming mark null and void, there would be no mating between two beings where one was basically allergic to the other.

Sesshoumaru chose to ignore the bizarre feeling of relief he got from the knowledge that Inuyasha was unable to mate with the darker youkai.

He realized suddenly that quiet had spread and looked over at his little brother. Inuyasha looked tired, with a vague red tint on his cheeks.

"Perhaps you do not feel completely recovered, little brother. Do not fret, this Sesshoumaru will stay here should you lose yourself again."

Inuyasha frowned. "Bastard. I'm not gonna go under again. I'm just not all ok yet." A faint pounding had started behind his eyes, so he decided to just stop talking.

"I'm so gonna kill him." It was whispered, but carried with it all the dismay Inuyasha felt at that moment.

Well, he might as well make himself comfortable. He pulled off his fire-rat robe and folded it into a make-shift pillow. Lying down, he let out a quiet sigh, hoping he would be all ok when he woke up. He drifted off listening to Sesshoumaru breathe, and tried not to think about how comforting it was to hear someone else breathing, even if it was a person who had tried to kill him on several separate occasions.

.oOo.

Hope you liked it! I'll try to snap it up a bit and be faster at updating. Work is killing me right now however, so don't expect any miracles. Bye! Love you! R&R please, it fills my motivation meter!


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